Petroleum dealers have decided to postpone the nationwide strike, originally planned to commence tomorrow, for an additional two days.
The decision comes after the association had a crucial meeting with Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in which both parties reached an agreement on an upward revision of the dealers’ profit margin.
Earlier, fuel station operators had announced an indefinite strike starting tomorrow, demanding their profit margin to be increased by more than double to five per cent from the current 2.4 per cent.
In response to the industry’s grievances, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) cited the impact of high-interest rates and inflation on their businesses and called for an increase in the dealership margin.
The PPDA, representing over 10,000 members, also pointed out that their sales had declined by 30 per cent due to the smuggling of Iranian fuel into the country.
In a press release, the association recounted their previous agreements and expressed discontent with the current profit margin structure.
“We had an agreement in 1999 for a five per cent profit margin, which was later reduced to four per cent in 2004,” the press release stated. The profit margin was further adjusted to Rs6 per litre by the incumbent government, resulting in an approximate 2.4 per cent profit margin for the dealers, which they found unacceptable.
The association revealed that they had approached Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik, and published appeals in major newspapers, seeking a resolution to their concerns.
After promises of a visit to Karachi, no action was taken, leading to their initial decision to go on strike.
However, yesterday, Minister Musadik Malik contacted PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan, and a meeting was promptly arranged for today at 4 pm.
Following the meeting, the association, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik, and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Chairman Masroor Khan jointly issued a statement. According to the statement, they have reached a mutual understanding that there should be a reasonable upward revision in the dealer’s margin.
The statement read: “The increased margins will [be] ascertain[ed] based on actual data acceptable to all concerned stakeholders. This revised margin number will be announced within the next forty-eight hours i.e. on Monday, July 24, 2023.”
