PM: If Train 4 strike jeopardises the national interest, Govt will act

Government is monitoring the situation at Atlantic LNG very closely, and if it reaches the stage where Government feels the national interest is jeopardised, it would take action, Prime Minister Patrick Manning stated yesterday. He was speaking at a post-news conference at Whitehall yesterday. Manning said Government concerns stemmed from the fact that the work stoppage was affecting Train 4 as well as other sectors of the economy. It also could affect the perception which foreign investors had of the workforce in Trinidad and Tobago, and could therefore damage future investment, he noted.

Manning said the issue of a higher minimum wage in the energy sector had to be considered very carefully because it had implications for the entire economy, and for economic stability. “We cannot afford to be unmindful of the effect that  actions in one direction can have on the rest of the economy,” he said. The Prime Minister said Cabinet took a position not to intervene in the LNG matter, since it believed that it should be solved by discussion and negotiation between the worker and the employer. He said the Labour Minister’s support for the workers had complicated, or had compromised the Government which continues to maintain its hands-off position.

Manning suggested that Lawrence Achong was acting as parliamentary representative, and not as Labour Minister, when he indicated his support for the workers.  “He is also parliamentary representative and he has made it clear that that is how he is operating,” he said. But the Prime Minister conceded: “Clearly there is a conflicting requirement here.” Asked whether he still had confidence in the Labour Minister, Manning replied: “If I had lost confidence in the Labour Minister, you would be the first to know.” Stating that he would have preferred if strike action had not been taken, Manning said discussions, not work stoppages, would solve the issue. He admitted that government’s  wish “was that these matters must be placed behind us and we get on with the business of the country’s development.”

He added he received a report that the construction of Train 4 had been set back, but it was still possible to return the programme to the contemplated schedule. Told that the workers were agitated based on what they saw as a promise by the Government to increase minimum wage in the energy sector, he said Government would implement its promise when it considered it appropriate. For now, he added,  it has been made absolutely clear to the workers that this was a matter involving employer and employee, and the way to resolve it was by discussion and negotiation. He said Government was still optimistic that the issue would be concluded on the basis of negotiations between the workers and the company.