The Central Workers' Commission (CCT) of Petrogal on Wednesday called for a parliamentary commission of enquiry into the closure of the Porto refinery and the privatisation of Galp Energia, where it said there had been "very similar cases" to those of TAP
"At TAP there was shouting for the constitution of a parliamentary commission of enquiry and there is still shouting at every revelation that is thrown there or that the journalistic investigation goes on to reveal. At Galp, nobody remembered the need for one (or two) parliamentary committees of enquiry to investigate the Government's responsibilities in the closure of the Oporto refinery and, even further back, in the entry of the Amorim group into Galp", they state in a statement.
Stressing that "Galp and TAP are two pillars of the national economy, employ thousands of workers and are among the largest national exporters", CCT questions "the reason for such a difference in the approach to very similar cases, for example, the compensation paid to directors".
"At TAP there is an outcry over the fact that a director received compensation of 500,000 euros, while at Galp there is silence over the fact that a director - Carlos Costa Pina - received compensation of around one million euros, which is relevant because he was directly involved in the handover of Galp to the Amorim group as secretary of state for finance in the PS/Socrates government".
According to Petrogal's Central Workers Commission, the Oporto refinery "was closed down with heavy costs for the country and a tremendous impact on the Northern region and will give way to a mega-real estate business under the guise of ecology and new energies".
"The former Environment Minister Matos Fernandes anticipated and announced the closure before the board itself, and then wanted to say that he knew nothing about it, he just has a guessing finger," it maintains, adding that, "today, this former minister represents international real estate groups and serves as a facilitator for their business in Portugal, perhaps in the north."
For CCT, justifying the "difference in scrutiny" between TAP and Galp with the fact that the former is public and the latter private is nothing more than a "cynical argument that seeks to hide the fact that, in both cases, there are suspicions of favouring private interests and clearly harming the country and the Portuguese".
"There is a duality of criteria depending on whether it is TAP or Galp, revealing a tremendous hypocrisy of the main actors on stage. They should at least have the decency to try to safeguard appearances and try to strike a democratic balance," the CTT of the Galp-owned refining company said.
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