Petro workers protest again

Workers from the company’s petroleum depot, marine department, maintenance, refinery, lab and medical departments assembled outside the company’s Pointe-a-Pierre administration offices.

Operations at Trinmar’s marine base and exploration and production facilities at Santa Flora, Forest Reserve, Penal and Guayaguayare, were also shut down as Trinmar workers also protested.

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Petrotrin branch secretary, Shaffick Hyatali, said a gas shortage was a real possibility if the company failed to accede to the workers’ grievances. He described yesterday’s protest as “the tip of the iceberg.” Road tanker wagons and LPG tankers were turned away from the petroleum bond yesterday as hundreds of workers, under the watchful eyes of Petrotrin’s estate police officers, took up positions in front of the company’s main gate leading to the bond.

The stalled wage negotiations and the issue of job organisational review are at the top of the list of the workers’ grievances.

Petrotrin has begun to review the status of employees, but OWTU is contending the exercise is based on an “outdated” job description profile.

Hyatali said the company is refusing to budge from its offer of eight percent, while the union is sticking to a 35 percent counterproposal spread over three years.

He said the company had also refused to include bonus and other allowances in the wage packet. Another bone of contention was the dismissal of two employees last Friday. The union has accused Petrotrin of employing intimidatory tactics.

The union and the company were locked in negotiations at Petrotrin’s Beaumont Hill offices for most of the day yesterday.