Atlantic LNG chairman slams Govt over strike

Chairman of Atlantic LNG, John Andrews, yesterday expressed his belief that there was no legitimate reason behind the protest action that shut down operations at the LNG Train IV plant at Point Fortin in February. He also asserted that the protest was allowed to continue for too long and should have been “nipped in the bud,” rather than escalate to such a point that could have a serious adverse effect on Government revenue and shareholder return.

The ten-week demonstration, he explained, has resulted in an increased labour component of approximately TT $88 million, with expenses incurred by German sub-contractor, Bechtel, running as high as TT $190 million. Additionally, there is a great possibility that the start up of Train IV will be delayed which could result in a default in the delivery of LNG, thus damaging the country’s reputation as a reliable supplier. Andrews, who delivered the feature address at the annual general meeting of the American Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (Amcham) at the Hilton Trinidad yesterday, was critical of the Government, stating that it should have made a decision on the sectoral wage earlier, thus removing it as an issue.

Therefore, in effect, the first six weeks of the protest action could be attributed to Government’s failure to implement an election promise, he maintained. Political parties, he said, should think of the consequences of their action before making campaign promises. Although the situation was resolved ten weeks after it began, there were no winners since none of the parties involved, were satisfied with the results, Andrews said. He said, “It is said that a good outcome of any negotiation is one where although the parties did not achieve 100 percent of what they wanted, a desirable compromise was arrived at which could be described as a win-win objective.

“On this occasion, none of the parties were happy with the results. As a matter of fact I dare to say everyone lost. The workers, the EPC contractor — Bechtel, the 25 sub-contractors, the client — Atlantic, the Government and last, but by no means least, the country.” As such, Andrews asserted, the future development of the energy sector in Trinidad and Tobago was highly dependent on the establishment of comprehensive programmes to avoid a recurrence of industrial interruption.