PETROL station operators called an indefinite strike from midnight in an attempt to prevent the licensing of new stations. The measure was implemented in the Famagusta district from Wednesday, with operators protesting against the opening of another station, and was extended to the whole country from today.
As seems to be the case with such disputes, it is not quite clear what all the fuss is about. One new station has been given a licence to open in the Famagusta district – building has not yet begun - but the operators have been claiming that the number of stations could increase from 28 to 48. How plausible is this? It would make no business sense for the petrol companies to almost double the number of stations in a small, under-populated region, as they would never recoup their investment.
Now if all this fuss and inconveniencing of the public is over the opening of one new station, it would have been ridiculous. The operators’ association, which called a national strike yesterday, has used this as an excuse to put pressure on the government to pass a new law that would control – restrict might be a better word – the opening of new stations. The association’s main complaint was that although a freeze on new station licences was agreed with the relevant government services until the new law governing the issuing of licences was drafted, 10 new stations had been built in 2012 and tens more applications were pending. If the new law was not passed the pending applications would also be approved.
This is what happens when the government bases its decisions on the wishes of interest groups – creates the belief that petrol station operators should have a say over how many garage licences should be issued. If a petrol company wants to set up new stations, nobody should stop them, least of all the operators of other stations. Do supermarket owners or kiosk owners demand that the state should stop new supermarkets or kiosk from opening, because it would affect their revenue? Why should petrol station operators have the right to make such a demand in a market economy?
There are currently 325 stations in Cyprus, with one operator claiming this was 35 per cent above our requirements. But they are all still in business, presumably because of the resourcefulness of the operators who also make money from car wash services and the sale of kiosk items. Perhaps in the future, operators will reduce their costs and increase profits, by not employing pump attendants and allowing customers to fill their cars on their own.
It should be made clear to operators, once and for all, that they have no say in how many station licences would be issued and should focus on running their own businesses.