'No one cares!' ONGC strikers
Angry ONGC offshore officers accuse management of a "casual" attitude to their protests against extended on-off duty.
Protests erupted in Mumbai after a May 17 (2024) order from executive director C Mathavan reiterated an earlier management decision changing the on-off duty cycle from 14 to 21 days. During the monsoon season from May 15 to September 20, offshore employees must now work 21 days followed by a 21-day break instead of an earlier two-week duty cycle.
On June 19 (2024), executive director and chief employee relations Rajan Asthana released the following statement: "Dear Colleague, we approach you one more time with an appeal to appreciate the intent behind temporarily changing our duty pattern for offshore operations from 14 days to 21 days." He adds that ONGC has extended the duty cycle because the monsoon is a risky season, and the company wants to reduce the number of helicopter journeys during bad weather.
"We would also like to share that this continued protest against a temporary arrangement introduced for safety reasons is not helping the corporation's image, which is already under stress because of falling production," writes Asthana. On WhatsApp groups and online platforms, officers have rejected management’s safety argument and denounced it for taking the protests lightly.
"The last sentence in the above appeal: "It is just for another two and a half months, until around September 20 (2024)’ shows how casual he (Asthana) is in writing this," says an ONGC officer. "If it is for the benefit of the employees, then it should be discussed before implementation; management took a one-sided decision and is now asking employees to cooperate; this letter is more commanding than requesting."
One source says that if HR officers had to work on offshore platforms, they would have an entirely different attitude and understand why workers are protesting.