* Hellenic Petrol CEO says pay must reflect productivity
* 10-day strike to start April 3
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ATHENS, April 1 (Reuters) - Pay at Greece's biggest refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, is too high and must be linked to productivity, its chief executive said on Friday, shortly before the planned start of strike action.
The average cost per employee at Hellenic is 85,000 euros ($120,300) a year, the company said in a statement, with productivity lagging that of Western European rivals.
"Our people get salaries above their German and Dutch peers, but work 15 percent (fewer) ... days per year, and within a very competitive environment, this can't continue," CEO John Costopoulos told Reuters in a statement.
His comments come a day after workers called a 10-day strike starting Sunday, which could lead to fuel shortages in Greece, to press for higher wages and more staff at the company's new Thessaloniki gasoline unit.
The company disputed the workers' claims that poor staffing at Thessaloniki poses a safety risk.
"In Thessaloniki, the new units will be properly staffed ... Unfortunately, it is customary for our union leaders to always raise safety issues during the time of annual collective agreement negotiations," the company said.
According to a labour union statement issued on March 18, the company's workers have demanded wage increases in line with EU inflation, but management rejected their offer. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou; Editing by Will Waterman) ($1=.7065 Euro)