The Association Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) says it will hold a crunch meeting with the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union (GNPTDU) today to avert shortage of petroleum products on the market.

The union on Monday, May 19, 2024 declared a strike over poor remunerations.

Speaking to Joy Business, the Chief Executive Officer of the AOMC, Dr. Riverson Oppong disclosed that some service stations are already running out of stock.

He stated that the association is taking the proactive step by meeting with the owners of the vehicles as well as the tanker drivers today.  

“We are going to sit down with the tanker union. We will meet both the owners and the drivers to make sure that we come to a consensus as on how to go about it”, he said.

Dr. Oppong refuted claims that the oil marketing companies are indifferent to the plight of the drivers.

“I don’t want people to think that we don’t care about the drivers. We care about the drivers. We do care about our drivers. We are against the fact that some of our members are owing the tanker owners who in turn also owe the drivers”.  

He is of the view that the meeting will produce an amicable recommendation that will help end the strike.

AOMC express fear of fuel shortage

Earlier the AOMC expressed deep concern regarding the strike action by the GNPTDU in respect of the proposed Driver and Mate remuneration framework.

It warned that the situation could lead to a serious crisis which would result in fuel shortage if the impasse is not resolved immediately.

The association said it had made persistent attempts to address the concerns of the GNPTDU, acknowledging the critical role of tanker drivers in the petroleum supply chain.

“However, repeated efforts by the AOMC to engage with the leadership of GNPTDU to address their concerns have unfortunately been unsuccessful. The extensive efforts made to amicably address the issues, including seeking the intervention of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have been unsuccessful”, a statement signed by the Chief Executive of the AOMC, Dr. Riverson Oppong said earlier.

It explained that AOMC members, who operate a significant portion of the tanker fleet are heavily reliant on the drivers.

“Therefore, if the remuneration issue remains unresolved, a strike action could disproportionally impact our members who own and operate about 50% of the country’s tankers. The scenario could compel them to defect from the Drivers Union altogether”, it said.