Double Jeopardy: Petrol bunk owners, fraudsters squeeze money from salesmen!

By PRABEER SIKDAR
DEHRADUN, 15 Apr 2009:
The condition of about 100-150 petrol salesmen working in 15-20 petrol outlets in the city appears to be worse than that of private security guards (see Garhwal Post story, 2 April, 2009).
With a starting salary of Rs 2000 per month (it goes up to Rs 2850 per month after more than a decade’s experience), they are not only being harassed by the Petrol Bunk owners, but also some fraudsters, who slip away without making payments.

Problems

“When we report for work, our owner notes down the Petrol Meter reading and also hands over some money. Later, after the duty period, they tally the meter reading before collecting the day’s income,” explained Rajender Prasad, newly appointed President (Association formed in May, 2008) of the CITU affiliated Petroleum Karamchari Union (PKU), who works at Agarwal Filling Station, Astley Hall.

“The problem is with some fraudsters (mostly young), who slip away without making payments after getting the tank filled,” added Prasad, pointing out that all ‘Petrol Bunk owners follow a similar policy of holding them responsible for such problems.

So, it doesn’t surprise Pradeep Thapa (name changed), who earns less than Rs 2850 per month (his officially fixed salary) even after having a work experience of 22 years in the same profession. “On an average, every week, one such case happens with most of us, and especially for those where they get more customers,” Thapa told Garhwal Post.

Ironically, CITU PKU Office bearers, due to their ignorance and lack of power, have not yet tried to raise their problems with the Petrol Outlet owners, who actually are also supposed to look into security aspects as well.

However, for the Petrol Salesmen, the problem does not end with the unnecessary loss of money, as they also remain bereft of other job benefits like weekly off, paid leave and excessive duration of work, i.e., more than the stipulated 8 hours.

“Whenever anybody tries to raise our problems, he is fired by the management,” Prasad said, disclosing that some of the PKU office-bearers were recently fired after their owners objected to ‘Union’ activities.

Ravi, another Petrol Salesman working at a Petrol Outlet on Raipur Road, said that many-a-time, ‘some customers also mange to get away by confusing us’.

According to Sanjeev, Manager of the Indian Oil Petrol outlet on Raipur Road, in such cases, they note down the vehicle numbers. “Later, we get information from the RTO and track down the fraudster,” he said, acknowledging that barring ‘unruly cases’ (where someone openly refuses to pay after filling petrol), they personally hold the salesmen responsible for the day’s collection.

What also appears surprising is the fact that none of the Petrol Outlet owners appoint a specific ‘collector’ for looking after the payments. “Every salesman is also supposed to work as his own accountant,” said Prasad.

http://www.garhwalpost.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Dehradun&article=381