Contractors
raise questions over bpTT/N&M deal
By Curtis Williams
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
10 22 06
Mayaro
and Guayaguayare were once fishing villages but,
ever since bpTT, through its predecessor company
Amoco, discovered huge deposits of crude oil off
the East coast and subsequently natural gas, the
energy sector has been the lifeblood of these villages.
Its
influence has spread as far as the agricultural
town of Rio Claro which also acts as the administrative
capital of Nariva Mayaro.
The
fortunes of the people of the south-east county
have been inextricably tied to the fortunes of the
energy sector and during the decade of depressed
crude prices, Mayaro and, in particular, Guayaguayare
suffered tremendously.
Some
people lost their homes, Petrotrin moved out of
the area and even Amoco downsized.
With
the advent of LNG, BHP’s Angostura discovery,
and strong energy prices, life has returned to the
villages.
Real
estate prices are up, hundreds of jobs created in
the service sector and now the residents say they
fear their good fortune could come to an end because
of an agreement signed between bpTT and Neal and
Massy Wood Group (NMWG).
The
agreement effectively means all bpTT’s maintenance
functions will be provided by the joint venture
between Neal and Massy and Wood Group.
In
a letter to employees bpTT’s executive chairman
Robert Riley explained that the move had become
necessary to ensure the highest safety standards
at the company’s operations.
Riley
said the past arrangements with several local contractors
was not good enough.
“Current
reality is that our maintenance internally and through
our existing contractor base is not able to keep
up with the needs of our expanded plant and equipment.
Further, we have the need to improve the conditions
of employment, job sustainability and training and
development of our current contractor work force,”
he said.
Riley
said the recent explosion at a BP refinery and BP’s
own near miss on its Mahogany B platform helped
shape the new policy.
But
contractors feel this effectively means that a partnership
between a multinational and a large local company
could hurt their profits and directly impact the
companies.
Several
contractors say they fear NMWG would act as a middle
man and would be earning money even though they
may be using the very contractors that bpTT acknowledged
were not up to scratch.
Up
to press time several calls to NMWG were not returned.
The
contractors say they were concerned that many of
them have developed local business and employ people
in the community and were concerned that they may
lose some of their contracts in preference of larger
players and that the community from which bpTT has
received its wealth was about to be abandoned.
Not
so said Riley.
“Contractor
maintenance employees will have the opportunity
to either retain positions with their employers
or apply for similar jobs with improved conditions
of employment with NMWG. One of the major benefits
of this agreement is that we will be able to introduce
a new level of professionalism to the industry while
at the same time eliminating glaring disparities
in conditions of employment and training between
maintenance services personnel and regular bpTT
employees.”
Councillor
for the area, Matthew Pierre, said villagers had
already started mobilising for what they see as
a potential fight.
He
said the deal meant that NMWG had no obligation
to the local contractors and contractors would have
to reduce their bids.
This
would mean a reduction in wages or a loss of jobs.
Pierre
said he had spoken with the MP for the area Franklin
Khan and that the contractors were meeting among
themselves to try and “find a way out.”
He
has not ruled out mass protest but hopes that the
villagers would demonstrate their concerns within
the confines of the law.
The
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday, October 19th 2006
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