Only six out of 190 employees at Repsol E&P T&T Limited have so far accepted voluntary separation (VSEP) packages offered by the company, a well placed source has told the T&T Guardian.
The VSEP offer was made in emails sent out to staff of the energy company on April 17 and according to External Relations and Communications Manager Heidi Diquez, the process is ongoing. She declined comment on the number of employees who have so far accepted the offer.
"The VSEP process holds strict confidentiality between the employee and the company, therefore we are unable to provide any feedback at this point," she said
Asked if it was true that the company's headquarters in Spain had projected about 25 offers being accepted in T&T, Diquez said: "Repsol did not have an expected number of employees who would have applied for the VSEP as it is a voluntary decision."
The T&T Guardian understands that the offer is only applicable to permanent staff, with the exception of employees in Bargaining Unit #3 and those who have submitted formal notices of retirement or tendered resignations before April 15.
Meanwhile, Repsol workers who were retrenched last October following a decision by the company to cut six per cent of its global workforce say they are still awaiting severance payments.
"All the employees who have stated their interest in the VSEP haver stated the conditions they wish the company to consider before accepting it, simply because of the state of economy and the uncertainty of when we can obtain new jobs," one of the retrenched workers said.
"Also the retirement offered by our Spain office was very attractive and was negotiated together with three unions in Spain. When I considered the company values of integrity, transparency and flexibility, I feel a favourable package should be offered to all countries and not only to the Madrid Office."
Diquez, who denied claims that Repsol T&T had failed to inform the Ministry of Labour about the lay offs, said all payments to the retrenched workers had been made in keeping with legal and tax requirements.
"There is a lot of speculation in the energy sector due to the uncertainty generated by the current global economic downturn and its imminent impact to the industry," she said.