Strikes will impact E&P at ONGC Gujarat sites
ONGC offices in Gujarat face a week of rallies and sit-ins starting July 22 (2025) in protest against several festering grievances, among them the outsourcing of E&P.
On July 22 (2025), a first rally is planned at the Mehsana asset; on July 23 (2025) the second will take place at the Ahmedabad asset; on July 24 (2025) a rally is scheduled at the Ankleshwar asset; and on July 25 (2025) a protest is organised at the Vadodara-based western onshore basin office. On July 7 (2025), the union ONGC Employees Mazdoor Sabha sent a notice detailing the "joint agitation programme" to HR director Manish Patil.
"We would like to bring to your kind notice that the management has been showing an indifferent attitude towards the burning issues raised by our union at forums," writes the Sabha general secretary, AR Tadvi. A union source tells us it is demanding the "removal of regressive measures affecting production."
Among them, it claims, is a badly needed seismic survey of the Aliabet field in the Cambay asset. "ONGC is ignoring the area despite its great potential," he stresses.
"We have been promised that the western onshore basin will soon issue a tender." Notable in this joint programme of strikes is that the unions in Ahmedabad and Vadodara are separate organisations, yet have agreed to a joint strike with the Mehsana body.
On July 30 and July 31 (2025), unions have called for "work to rule" at all Western Region work centres. Among the grievances that unions want to discuss are the outsourcing of E&P and slow field development, the reinstatement of medical credit facilities, an upgrade of fire service personnel from Class-4 to Class-3; complaints that ONGC is recruiting Class-4 instead of Class-3 workers to avoid paying higher salaries; and bringing tenure-based field operators and paramedics onto ONGC's books; substandard kits and PPE.
Expect any future talks also to include a perception that new rigs bought from Megha Engineering are unsafe. Some demands are similar to those made by the Mumbai-based Petroleum Employees Union (PEU), which issued a separate strike notice on June 24 (2025) over safety concerns at its offshore installations.