The strike is to run until 31 March at Sines, with workers at the company’s refinery at Matosinhos, near Porto from 15 March onwards.

The strike began at the start of the year, with street protests also organised by unions, which accuse the company of refusing to enter into dialogue.

Rogério Silva, the president of Fiequimetal (the Interunion Federation of Metallurgical, Chemical, Electrical, Pharmaceutical, Pulp, Paper, Printing, Press, Energy and Mining Industries), told Lusa that its members would continue to demand that the company enter into talks.

"This situation has been dragging for a long time [and] the company has already had a significant drop in exports and workers lose remuneration,” he pointed out. “We hope that a meeting will soon be scheduled to be able to [have] dialogue."

Fiequimetal has also asked the Ministry of Employment to intervene, he said.

Silva recalled that Galp has lost €36 million in exports in recent months and said that this was dueto the effect of the stoppage on production.

As for the striking workers, they have not lost pay equivalent to the length of the standoff, because they minimum services were illicitly imposed, he said, but which they make a point of ensuring.

The action is also in protest against the elimination of certain rights for shift workers, against deregulation and longer working hours, including the so-called ‘hour bank’, and to defend retirement and health benefits.

The strikers are also pressing for Galp to take on as staff a number of workers on casual contracts at the refineries.