Industrial court to settle wage dispute

In a media release yesterday, IOCL stated negotiations for the period January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015 with the union have been transferred to the Ministry of Labour with the company “meeting and treating in good faith with a view to settle these outstanding negotiations for a period that has already expired.” “The Union is seeking a wage increase of 80 percent for the period 2013 to 2015,” IOCL stated, and noted that the union was seeking to justify their claim by demanding that employees be paid “Petrotrin’s Minimum Wage” in accordance with Petrotrin’s General Conditions of Contract, Clause 38.

1. However, IOCL cited clause 38.3 which notes that the OWTU was the recognised union and Clause 38.1 did not apply to the IOCL.

“IOCL did not tender using Petrotrin’s minimum wage rate and because of its current bleak financial position, Petrotrin cannot afford to pay its Contractors any rate that is close to the minimum that is paid to their employees,” IOCL stated.

“IOCL cannot afford such an increase or anything close to that. Strike action is an option that is available to the union, once the negotiations have broken down at the Ministry of Labour and can last for up to 90 days,” the company stated.

“At the end of the strike action, the dispute will be referred to the Industrial Court for determination. This dispute will therefore be determined by the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago,” IOCL added. However, the IOCL pointed out that it had proposed a settlement for the period 2013 to 2015 and also for the period 2016 to 2018 in which workers would have received retroactive payments ranging from $65,000 to $80,000.