for Petrotrin Chairman

The announcement that Executive Chairman of Petrotrin Malcolm Jones makes $70,000 a month provoked a chorus of "wooooooohs" from the Opposition UNC in the Senate yesterday. But the Executive Chairman took a pay cut from $82,656 when he moved from the private sector in early 2002 to re-enter the public service, Energy Minister Eric Williams disclosed in the Senate yesterday.

Williams, in seeking to defend Jones' pay package, said that the private market, Titan Methanol, assessed his worth as deserving of "superior" compensation. In fact when Jones left the energy company, Titan Methanol, to assume the position of President of Petrotrin, the salary cut was even sharper. His monthly income almost halved — from $82,656 to $46,200, the salary he received as President of Petrotrin between December 2001 and December 2002. But then the new PNM administration in December 2002 created the position of Executive Chairman, which was thought to be deserving of higher compensation because of the additional responsibilities, Williams said.

The salary, perquisites and allowances of both positions were based on a recommendation from the Chief Personnel Officer, the Minister disclosed. Williams said the CPO's rationale was premised on the Gas, Oil and Utilities Sector of the HRC Associates 2001 Compensation Report. He said consideration was also given to the fact that Petrotrin was the only integrated oil and gas company in Trinidad and Tobago. He said while no data was available from the private and public sectors in respect of the position of Executive Chairman, the HRC Report revealed that the average base salary for CEOs in the gas, oil and utilities sector was $44,520, while CEOs at the higher end of the spectrum got around $73,210 a month. He noted that it appeared that the inclusion of data from the Utilities had resulted in a lower average base salary.

"Consequently, in view of the salaries payable in the relevant sector to the position of CEO and given that the position of Executive Chairman is ranked higher than that of CEO because of additional Board duties,  for which a non Executive Chairman would normally be paid a Board fee amounting to $11,000 per month, the CPO considers that a salary of between $65,000 and $70,000 per month would not be unreasonable," Williams said. Jones, whose contract is for a three year period, would receive, in addition to his $70,000 salary, a performance bonus of 16 percent of annual income; a fully maintained company vehicle with the option to purchase the vehicle at the depreciated value at the end of the contract period; a fully maintained and furnished company house; full participation in the company's medical plan; 25 working days vacation per year of contract and a gratuity of 30 percent of his basic salary payable on satisfactory completion of the contractual period.

Williams concluded that it should be noted that packages for persons in comparable positions in the private sectors are superior to the remuneration given to the Executive Chairman of Petrotrin. Nevertheless Williams strong defence of the compensation package failed to convince Independent Senator Professor Ken Ramchand. Ramchand asked if Williams was aware that over 80 percent of the workforce in this country earns less than $4,000 a month. "Can the Minister say how in all conscience anybody can approve the exploitation of the people of Trinidad and Tobago that he has just described?" he asked. Williams mumbled that he was not aware of the details and statistics of salaries in Trinidad and Tobago. He said while he was "painfully aware" of what some, like MPs who offer themselves for public service, he couldn't answer Ramchand's question. Mark asked whether Williams knew that this "scandalous package" caused a "revolt" at the level of the Board and the resignation of three members, Williams said he was neither aware of any scandal or revolt.