Petrotrin
workers back, wage talks Thursday
Ariti
Jankie
South
Bureau
Trinidad
Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
07 30 06
Petrotrin's refinery operations were up and running
yesterday-following a two-day shutdown in which
workers did not turn out.
Yesterday
they were back on the job and their union, the Oilfields
Workers Trade Union, and the state-owned oil company
will now look to the Ministry of Labour for a settlement
of their wrangling over increased wages and benefits.
The
first meeting, with company, union and ministry
officials, will be held today at the ministry. The
union, which represents some 5,000 workers in five
bargaining units, wants a 35 per cent increase over
three years, 2005-2008. The company is offering
ten per cent. They have been negotiating for the
past eight months, during which there were 36 meetings.
At
a press conference at OWTU headquarters at Paramount
Building in San Fernando yesterday, the union's
president general, Errol McLeod, said the workers
deserved "a 67 per cent increase, not 35"
and that in ten days there would be no gas on the
local market if there was a strike.
He
said that Petrotrin had been selling every last
gallon of refined products to cash in on high energy
prices, especially with this year's US summer, one
of the hottest on record.
McLeod
said the company's product inventories were low
and could not sustain a strike of any long duration.
This was in reply to Petrotrin's statement that
it could supply the market for the next three to
four weeks.
Operations
at the company's Pointe-a-Pierre refinery were shut
down on Monday due to low worker turn out. On Tuesday,
the company's Santa Flora field and marine operations,
through the Trinmar subsidiary at Point Fortin,
also came to a standstill because of low worker
turn out.
Trinidad Express
Thursday, July 27th 2006
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©2006 Trinidad Express . All Rights Reserved.
