Once again, the OWTU seeks to commandeer its pound of flesh from a decelerating and devastated economy, plunging price of oil/gas, escalating unemployment, gas shortage, billion-dollar debt-ridden Petrotrin the employer, dwindling forex life-line and a 92 per cent reduction in the Exchequer's take from the energy sector exacerbated by an unprecedented seven per cent decline in GDP in the last quarter.
It is on record that Petrotrin employs a labour force that is ten times what is required to run a refinery operation of its size–political worker padding.
The OWTU has been holding T&T to ransom since Independence and inflicting enormous punishment on the people of this country by its devastating striking strategy with no respite in the offing.
Additionally, the rest of the people do not get any returns from its largest State-oil company harvesting the nation's energy patrimony for the exclusive benefit of the members of the OWTU commanding astronomical wages but with disappearing markets in the Caribbean.
The late Patrick Manning sought to break this OWTU stranglehold on T&T when he established the Caroni Liquid Fuel Facility near to the Caroni Cremation Site at a cost of $1.5bn but without commissioning the requisite feasibility study.
He intended to introduce a private sector management/operation of this fuel depot away from NP and therefore without any industrial strike opportunity for the OWTU to shut it down to leverage wage negotiations.
To date the facility is non-operational. It has been assigned to NP. Workers are represented by OWTU again. The facility is deteriorating daily.
Except for the above facility and an occasional Defence Force interventionist fuel delivery contingency plan, no serious attempt has been made to insulate the hapless, victimised and besieged population from the insidious and callous visitings and vicissitudes of the OWTU. It is as if The Exchequer owes a perennial debt to the militant OWTU to satisfy their demands first and foremost. The rest of us just have to wait.
TCL was able to break the backs of the OWTU recently when the cement supply was disrupted. Who will do the same to the insensitive, war-like, inhumane and exploitive oil workers strike squad for the sake of all of us, and bring this sordid saga to an end?
Stephen Kangal,
Caroni