TT's
OWTU Mcleod: 8% will never be accepted
By
Carolyn
Kissoon
South
Bureau
Trinidad
Express
Petroleumworld.com
06 18 06
Errol Mcleod, president general of the Oilfields
Workers Trade Union (OWTU), yesterday accused State-owned
oil company, Petrotrin, of preparing for war instead
of settling outstanding wage negotiations.
Mcleod
said Petrotrin's management has been spending money
on refurbishing bungalows and training camps to
accommodate scab labour. "Management has been
spending enormous sums of money on strike materials
hoping we will take strike action and leave scabs
to run the organisation. But ours is not the intention
to strike," he said.
But
Mcleod said should workers be forced to take strike
action, every single employee would be walking out
of the refinery. "This will be a discomfort
for the motoring public, but I hope the people of
Trinidad and Tobago would understand," he told
reporters at a media briefing at the OWTU headquarters,
Circular Road, San Fernando.
Petrotrin
officials were not available for comment.
Negotiations
between the company and the union for the period
2005-2008 began on December 20 and since then they
have had 25 meetings.
Workers
staged a two-day shutdown of all Petrotrin operations
last week causing panic buying among motorists throughout
the country. They were protesting stalled negotiations
and demanding a 35 per cent wage increase along
with improved bonus and pension packages.
Petrotrin
has countered with an eight per cent wage increase
for the period and last week said it could not give
in to the union's demands given the company's capital
investment requirements over the next three to five
years.
Mcleod
said management has indicated that it would not
go beyond a double digit number. He said the union
would continue to reject the proposed eight per
cent.
"In
the interest of industrial peace, we decided to
move from 35 per cent to 32 per cent. And we continue
to indicate that we are negotiating. We did not
say 32 per cent or nothing, but an eight per cent,
management of Petrotrin and citizens of Trinidad
and Tobago, will never see," he said.
Negotiations
resumed at 1 p.m. yesterday and up until late evening
both parties were still locked in discussions.
Trinidad
Express
Wednesday
14th June, 2006
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©2006 Trinidad Express. All Rights Reserved.
