Despite assurances from Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine that their problems will be addressed, workers at Lake Asphalt of T&T Ltd (LATT) staged a protest yesterday over protracted wage negotiations.
For the second day, workers walked off the job at lunch time and threatened to cripple bitumen and asphalt exports if their demands are not met.
Ramnarine told the T&T Guardian he was hoping for a speedy resolution of industrial problems at the company. He said certain guidelines from Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Stephanie Lewis on the negotiations had been passed on to the LATT's management.
"We hope the company of course will negotiate with regard to those guidelines from the CPO and this is a matter we hope will be resolved pretty quickly," the minister said.
However, Joseph Phillip vice president of the Contractors and General Workers Union (CGWTU), representatives of three collective bargaining units at the company, said that has been communicated to the union.
"We are fed up of this situation. The company has not made an offer and workers have been living on the same wages since 2011," he said.
Executive member of CGWTU Trevor Aberdeen said more than 300 workers were part of the lunchtime protest.
"At present we are not at work because it has been four long years and still we have had no offer from the company. We are well into the fourth year. Negotiations ended in 2011 and in the next two weeks, we will be into another period," Aberdeen said, adding that workers were also upset about health and safety concerns.
"Several inefficiencies exist. There is no emergency response and no ambulance policies. We often have equipment failures and this is posing serious risks to people's lives," he said.
"We intend to go back to discuss our safety issues. We have weak infrastructure, lines and valves are blowing out, and we need to have a safe working environment. We are also demotivated and we want to know that the company is negotiating in good faith," Aberdeen said.
He expressed hope that the company's management will meet with the union soon to discuss the workers' concerns.
Contacted yesterday, LATT CEO, Leary Hosein said operations at the company had not been adversely affected by the protests. He said the next round of negotiations will be on May 26.