4
Operators axed
By Roxanne Stapleton
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
01 21 07
This
has come as blame is being laid at PowerGen's door
by the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission
(T&TEC) for its "inability to supply adequate
generation to the Commission".
The
four were terminated on the basis of leaving machinery,
valued at hundreds of millions of US dollars, unmanned,
industry sources told the Express.
The
machines are supposed to be manned "around
the clock, 24/7, never to be left unsupervised",
it was explained. The four plant operators have
been employed with the company for more than ten
years each, with one of them having service in excess
of 30 years.
In
addition, 17 out of a total 25 plant operators at
PowerGen's Pt Lisas plant recently submitted sick
leave certificates for a one-week period.
This
was described as "unprecedented" because
such a large group of workers reported sick at the
same time, and PowerGen officials have requested
the operators visit the company's doctor, the Express
was told.
The
17 were "barred" from entering the compound
over the last three days, pending a final report
from the company's doctor, sources said. PowerGen
engineers have picked up the slack this has caused
for the company.
Collective
agreement negotiations, which are already a year
behind, are currently ongoing between PowerGen and
the workers' bargaining unit, the Oilfields Workers'
Trade Union.
PowerGen's
CEO, Garth Chatoor, refused comment when contacted
yesterday, stating it is his company's policy to
"not comment on industrial relations issues".
OWTU representatives also refused comment, saying
they did not want to "jeopardise or compromise
the workers' situation".
The
OWTU is scheduled to meet with PowerGen workers
at the company's Pt Lisas plant today, and the union
representatives will then meet with PowerGen's management
tomorrow to continue negotiations, it was revealed.
The
flow of business in the capital city and environs
was virtually crippled as a result of power outages
on Monday and Tuesday.
PowerGen,
in a statement issued on Tuesday, said that its
Port of Spain unit four steam turbine tripped on
an electrical/instrumentation fault and the Port
of Spain unit two steam turbine tripped following
a loss of vacuum on the cooling water system.
T&TEC,
in a statement also issued on Tuesday, said it was
continuing to experience a shortage of electrical
power to meet the demand of its customers, as a
result of PowerGen's inability to supply adequate
generation to the Commission. "The Commission
has been forced to shed load in several areas throughout
the country," it added.
While
PowerGen was quick to issue its apology on Tuesday,
businessmen slammed the gesture as "not enough"
and demanded that they be "immediately compensated",
saying they had suffered huge financial losses due
to the outages.
Trinidad
Express
Thursday,
January 18th 2007
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