Oil-sector strike in India ends

NEW DELHI - About 55,000 white-collar workers at state-run oil companies called off a three-day strike late yesterday, the petroleum minister said, after causing a severe fuel shortage in India.

News reports said the strike left nearly 60 percent of gas pumps dry and delayed flights across the country.

"Good sense has prevailed and I'm glad they have withdrawn," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

There was no immediate comment from the office workers, who had been demanding salary increases.

The Petroleum Ministry had said earlier yesterday that the workers - who were employed at state-run oil companies including the Indian Oil Corporation and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. - could be fired if the strike continued.

ASSOCIATED PRESS