Citizens should brace themselves for fuel shortages as the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) and Petrotrin failed to reach an agreement on Tuesday night over wage negotiations.
At around 10.15 pm, OWTU Chief Education and Research Officer Ozzi Warwick said that Petrotrin maintained its offer of 0-0-0 for the period 2014 to 2017. Currently the OWTU and Petrotrin are before the Industrial Court for the period 2011-2014, in which the company had also offered 0-0-0.
Workers are expected to gather at the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout, outside the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery at 7 am Wednesday where OWTU president general Ancel Roget will address them before serving Petrotrin with a legal strike notice. The company will then have four days to put contingency measures in place before the strike comes into effect. The strike has a maximum of 90 days before the issue is sent to the Industrial Court for mediation. The strike can affect the availability of gas, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking gas).
In a media conference on Tuesday, Roget said all operations, including refinery, land and offshore, will come to a complete halt. The pending strike has received criticism and concerns from among the public. Former energy ministers Conrad Enill and Kevin Ramnarine agreed that T&T cannot afford a strike at this time. Enill called on all parties–the company's board, the government and the OWTU–to come to an amicable settlement. Ramnarine said that based on Petrotrin's financial position, they cannot afford to give a salary increase at this time.
CEO of the Energy Chamber Dr Thackwray Driver also expressed concern over the strike, saying that it can affect Petrotrin's debt rating, making borrowing on the international market more expensive. He said it can also ward off potential investors.
However, Roget said none of the business chambers or former ministers did anything when the union made public, the mismanagement and corruption at Petrotrin. He said if the Government could have found the money to pay public servants their 14 per cent salary increase, they can also pay Petrotrin workers, who are most vital to the country. He said the strike will show people how important Petrotrin workers are the country's operations.