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Fiequimetal (Inter-Union Federation of Metallurgical, Chemical, Electrical, Pharmaceutical, Cellulose, Paper, Graphic, Press, Energy and Mining Industries) warned this Monday that a total of 1,500 direct and indirect jobs are at risk in the Matosinhos refinery. , Porto District, after Galp announced the closure of its refining operations in 2021.
“We are talking about 1,500 jobs that are at risk: 500 direct jobs, plus a thousand indirect ones,” Hélder Guerreiro, head of Fiequimetal, told Jornal Economico today.
Galp announced this morning that it will close the refining operations in Matosinhos in 2021 to concentrate them in the Sines refinery, with a view to saving 90 million euros a year. The oil company justified the decision with the “structural changes in the consumption patterns of petroleum products, motivated by the European regulatory context and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, caused a significant impact on the industrial activities of down river [produção de combustíveis] of Galp ”.
For its part, the union criticized Galp’s shareholders’ decision to have approved the dividend distribution this year, at a time when the company was already suffering a 50% drop in sales.
“There have been several warnings from the unions, and the workers committee said on April 24 of this year that the decision to assign [318] million euros to shareholders would bring serious consequences for the company and the workers, ”said the official in reference to the decision taken at the general shareholders’ meeting held on April 24.
Galp paid a dividend of 70 cents per share for 2019, in a total payment of 580 million euros to its shareholders. Of this total, 262 million were paid in September 2019 in the form of an interim payment. The remaining 318 million euros were approved in April this year, at a time when the pandemic was already affecting the economy. Galp posted a profit of 560 million euros in 2019, 21% less than in the same period last year.
“After eight months, this is confirmed. We are talking about two collective layoffs, we are talking about the closure of the Porto refinery, which has serious impacts for workers, the company and the country. It is amazing that the administration did not foresee it, ”said the union leader.
“The administration claims savings of 90 million euros per year, but costs are being reduced to deliver them to shareholders. The closure of the Porto refinery will have a social and economic impact, will cause an increase in unemployment. This will also have a negative impact on exports, on the trade balance ”, according to Hélder Guerreiro.
The oil company announced this Monday that it will continue to supply the “regional market, maintaining the operation of the main import, storage and shipping facilities of existing products in Matosinhos, and is developing the appropriate solutions for the necessary reduction of the workforce and to evaluate uses alternatives for the complex, ”according to the oil company, which did not reveal the number of jobs that will be affected.
The union leader defends that the government should use the position of 7.5% of the state in Galp to stop the closure of the Matosinhos refinery. “What does the government say about this? About this destruction of jobs? We hold the Government responsible for this decision. We have already made several calls for the government to intervene. This is a public service. The Government has to take a position ”.
The State, through Parp República, has a 7.48% stake in Galp. The largest shareholder of the company is Amorim Energia, which owns 33.34% of the company. This company is 55% controlled by the Amorim family, and 45% owned by Sonangol, an Angolan state oil company.
In the only political reaction so far, Bloco de Esquerda left strong criticism of Galp for going to lay off workers at the Matosinhos refinery.
“Galp is an example of what should not happen. It is a company in which the State has a stake and does not exercise its right to vote in general meetings, ”said the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda today.
“It is a company that has distributed millions of euros to its shareholders and is laying off workers. That is what cannot happen, it is the worst of the economy. The State is not responsible for a company in which it can have an opinion and for a company that distributes millions to shareholders while laying off workers, ”Catarina Martins said Monday.
The Government, for its part, went public today to reveal its “concerns” about the “fate of the workers” at the Matosinhos refinery that Galp is preparing to close in 2021.
The ministry of João Pedro Matos Fernandes highlights that this year the Just Transition Fund was created, which “mobilizes funds destined precisely to support regions of Europe where there are companies like this refinery. Initially designed for mining areas and coal power plants, this fund is now more comprehensive. At the time, the Portuguese Government extended the support of this Fund to other territories with polluting industries, including the municipality of Matosinhos ”.
“Within the framework of the Just Transition Plan, which is in preparation, the Government has therefore decided to propose the eligibility for this support of the region where the Leça da Palmeira refinery is located. With this Fund, with an estimated budget of 200 million euros for Portugal, it will be possible to protect affected workers and finance new companies that will support the transition towards a carbon neutral economy, such as those associated with renewable energies, energy efficiency and economy. Circular. According to the European calendar, the Portuguese plan will be completed during the first half of 2021, ”the statement said.
On December 16, the European Council approved the financial endowment of the Just Transition Fund, which provides for 204 million euros for Portugal to try to alleviate the closure of the EDP and Pego da Tejo Energia coal plants at the end of 2021..
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