OWTU to decide today on possible strike

Speaking with reporters prior to entering a third conciliatory meeting between the company and the union at the Ministry of Labour, St James Street, San Fernando yesterday morning, OWTU president general, Ancel Roget, said the matter was on the brink of resolution should the government propose a reasonable wage offer.

“We are negotiating directly with instructions coming from the Cabinet and the Ministers and that is what we are going to examine here this morning because the company asked, on the last occasion, for one week to get a mandate from the Minister of Finance since the Minister of Finance and the Cabinet said they did not have the authority,” Roget said.

“If it’s reasonable, we will examine it in its entirety and inform the workers and advise accordingly and if it is unreasonable, well of course we will reject it. Zero-zero- zero that is most unreasonable and we will reject that,” he added.

Roget continued: “If at this point, the Cabinet responds negatively and they are not prepared to give the appropriate instructions, the Minister of Finance, if he is not prepared to give the appropriate instructions to bring these negotiations to a close, we are going to initiate and effect an effective strike action on Petrotrin.

“We are very close to the full declaration of war, because this is war,” he said, and pointed out that Petrotrin was in trouble because of “past and present governments” as well as bad management and poor leadership decisions.

“Petrotrin is existing today, only held together only on the basis of the workers working,” he said.

Roget then warned that should an unfavourable proposal be tabled by the cabinet appointed committee, the union would announce its course of action at a mass meeting at the gates of Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery today.