The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) is urging GOIL, the world’s largest oil marketing company, to rethink its decision to withdraw from the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs).
In an interview with Eyewitness News, COPEC’s Executive Director, Duncan Amoah, said that the departure of GOIL from the AOMCs might undermine the organization since GOIL is the largest participant in the industry.
“We would beg that GOIL should reconsider their position because once they leave, it weakens the association and as a business association if the larger player is no longer part of it, you could as well imagine what becomes of the association as far as their decision and pressures they want to exert on government is concerned,” he said.
GOIL announced its departure from the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) on Wednesday, after charges by the association’s leadership that the government encouraged the firm to lower the price of its petroleum products.
In a statement, the firm slammed the AOMCs for making such a claim against it, calling it “gross disrespect.”
“We at GOIL believe that the Association has shown gross disrespect to the company and treated it with contempt and public ridicule and has therefore decided to suspend its membership of the Association immediately,” GOIL said in its statement.
However, Duncan Amoah believes that, although GOIL’s viewpoint is acceptable, the company should not cut relations with the organization in order to preserve the union’s significant collective bargaining strength and influence.
“Some initial talks has gone on and GOIL is really not too enthused about the position that the association took although they also did not take that position in a vacuum except to say that as a member of their association, the onus would have been bigger on them to consult or to ask and possibly also make an informed position on that issue but this is one of the things that we never really expected,” he said.
Duncan Amoah warned that if GOlL totally withdraws from the group, the oil marketers may lack the necessary clout to pursue certain requests, particularly from the government.
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