Employees of the Algarve's largest independent filling station company 'Petrofer' today demanded that the management pay their wage arrears, a situation that is now affecting the majority of the company's 54 employees who are at least 2 months behind in receiving their pay packets.
Cátia Morais, of the Trade Union committee dealing with Petrofer said that her workers have grievances including the absence of any fuel to sell, and the absence of any stock in the retail units at the Algarve’s 14 filling stations.
"The first problem is that the wages are in arrears. There are some people that if not paid on November 9, will then be three months in arears.”
Morais said that "filling stations are without fuel, without any stock or materials in the stores, except at the three Tangerine shops. Right now, the stations are open but workers have nothing to do."
"There are workers in the position of doing nothing at work, they are just there to fill in time," said Morais, who says that since the company was sold on September 30, this year there has been no contact person to whom she can talk.
Morais even went to the company’s head office in Faro and met a man who said he was in charge of finance and who promised all would be resolved this Monday. It was not.
Company delivery drivers have nothing to deliver, there is no fuel to sell and people are turning up to work as if there was a job to perform.
Morais commented that the Petrofer management later said "maybe on November 7 there will be some response."
Petrofer (José Bento Ferreira & Filhos Lda) is based at 5a, Ria Ascenção Guimarães in Faro and was founded in 1980 by José Bento Ferreira.
The company’s main business is selling Galp products in the Algarve from its chain of filling stations. The company owns and manages three filling stations and has ten more under franchise agreements.
The company also delivers fuels and lubricants to companies involved in agriculture, industry, construction, public works, hotels and fishing.
Petrofer was the biggest filling station fuel retailer in the south, supplying around 35 million litres of fuel a year. Its future under a new owner has got off to a shaky start.
Workers met today at one of the Petrofer sites in Faro and discussed their options and, by inviting SIC Noticias along to film interviews, managed to get their situation onto the evening news.
