Petrotrin:
Firm can't keep up with union's demands
By
Phoolo Danny-Maharaj,
South Bureau
Trinidad Express
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com.
06 11 06
Petrotrin said yesterday it could not give in to
the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) demand
for a more than 30 per cent wage increase.
The
State-owned oil company said it could not entertain
that level of expenditure, given the capital investment
requirements over the next three to five years.
It
said: "Already (our) offer of eight per cent
on top of current salaries and benefits and in addition
to visible gain sharing bonuses will result in substantial
increases in the cost of the company's operations."
The
company and the union were locked in negotiations
for 24 hours and at 1 p.m. yesterday no "appreciable
movement" was made in the talks, both sides
reported.
Petrotrin
said its intention was to ensure the company's long-term
viability "as well as competitive wages".
The
negotiations resumed after a two-day protest by
hundreds of Petrotrin workers at all the company's
areas of operations that resulted in a gas shortage
at service stations in South Trinidad.
Gas
tankers were unable to enter the company's Pointe-a-Pierre
refinery because of the protest.
The
union's negotiating team is prepared to hold "non-stop"
talks until an acceptable agreement is reached,
OWTU's Pointe-a-Pierre branch secretary Shaffick
Hyatali said.
He
said negotiations could turn sour and end up in
another shutdown, if the workers were not satisfied
with "the pace or accomplishment".
Trinidad
Express
Friday, June 9th 2006
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