PETROL STATION operators have warned they will consider industrial action unless oil companies agree to their terms for the renewal of a collective agreement.
Petrol station operators claimed each station was losing £22,000 a year and demanded that oil companies inject a further £20,000 per station to cover operational costs.
The President of the Pancyprian Association of Petrol Stations, Pambinos Charalambous, said appropriate measures would be decided at a general assembly.
The dispute began last year when the collective agreement between the two parties expired: it centres around commission paid to petrol station operators, as well as staff to meet the needs of running the stations.
Charalambous said expenses for running a petrol station amounted to £82,000 a year, compared to average income of £60,000.
ExxonMobil yesterday refused to comment on the issue. A spokesman told the Cyprus Mail the matter was being discussed with the union and was hopeful that a solution would be reached.
But Petrolina Managing Adviser Kikis Lefkaritis was furious with the petrol station owners, saying oil companies had already agreed to most of their demands.
“We didn’t want to say too much on the issue because it is being handled by the government, but we feel the truth should be told and the public should be made aware of what is happening around this dispute,” he said.
“We accepted most of their demands as a token of good will, such as increased costs and their demand on the increase in clear earnings, something which we already had guaranteed.”
Lefkaritis said the association had wanted £24,000 in employee wages, to which the oil companies agreed, but then raised their demand to £36,000.
“They wanted £24,000 to cover wages, but when they took their demands to the ministry they changed the amount to £36,000 because they knew that they had no basis for their demand so they just put in an amount and hoped for the best,” Lefkaritis said.
“At the end of the day, this money is paid by the consumer, so we carried out a study and presented the results to the ministry. We met with the government and the station operators, and the government suggested an independent study whose findings would be binding.
“We accepted their suggestion but the operators didn’t, saying the study would take too long. The government guaranteed the study would be concluded within a month they still said no and demanded that their demands be met there and then.”
Lefkaritis said the station owners were focussing on the figure of £24,000 per petrol station, thus concealing the full impact on the economy.
“If their demands are met the total amount payable amounts to £5 million,” he said.
“This would have a huge impact on the consumer and the economy.”
Lefkaritis said he was hopeful that with government intervention and more meetings, the station operators would finally be persuaded to change their minds.
“If they go on strike that is something the government has to take care of,” Lefkaritis said.
“The government has asked for five days time to make more efforts but they won’t accept that, they want everything and they want it now.”
