ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — Gas station operators are reportedly threatening to strike Tuesday as they seek an increase in their profit margins, a move Prime Minister Gaston Browne says comes at a particularly difficult time as international fuel prices rise.

Browne said he received information Monday night that dealers were considering closing their service stations to pressure the government into approving higher margins.

“I just got a call that gas station dealers are demanding an increase in their profit margin and threatening closure, at a time when the Government has eliminated its margin to keep prices down. Bad timing!” Browne said.

The prime minister said the government has been attempting to shield consumers from the full impact of rising international fuel costs.

“Poor timing. Not when there is an escalation in prices,” Browne said.

He said the government did not increase its own margin and has passed on only some of the additional costs to consumers in an effort to limit losses.

“The Government did not increase its margin,” he said. “We have passed on some of the costs to contain the losses.”

Browne said no formal communication had been received from gas station operators as of Monday night and described the reported strike action as having been organized “clandestinely.”

However, he confirmed that the West Indies Oil Company service station on Friars Hill Road and several other stations are expected to remain open Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear how many privately operated service stations planned to participate in the threatened strike or whether talks would take place before the planned action.

Gas station operators have also not publicly disclosed the size of the margin increase they are seeking or how long any industrial action could last.

The closure of several service stations at the same time could cause disruptions for motorists and businesses across Antigua and Barbuda.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Gas Station Operators Threaten Tuesday Strike Over Profit Margins; Browne Calls Timing Poor.