Residents of Santa Flora, a Petrotrin fenceline community, are hoping for employment opportunities with the new entities that will replace the state-owned energy company.
Among those hoping for a better deal is Victor Williams, 50, a fruit vendor, who warned that residents are no longer prepared for a situation where labourers from outside the community get jobs they are also qualified to perform.
“Every time a new government comes into power, they ram the company with their people and the people in the community have no say,” he said.
Williams claims a lot of people from Santa Flora were denied permanent employment with at Petrotrin and had to settle for temporary and casual positions, As a result, with the shut down of the company, scores of Santa Flora residents were retrenched and were not entitled to compensatory packages.
Michael Osbourne, 48, who is hoping for a fresh start with the companies replacing Petrotrin, warned: “We ready and we prepared to shut them down if nobody in the community getting work.”
He said Santa Flora never benefitted from the energy company.
Anthony Francis, 45, who was a casual worker with Petrotrin and was sent home empty-handed when the company shut down, complained:
“My bills and everything is piling up, I can’t take anymore right now.
“I just living by the grace of God right now. I am on the edge and could blow up right now.”
Former employees are not the only ones reeling from the shutdown of the company.
Jassodra Ramkhalawan, who operates fruit stall just a few feet away from the entrance to Petrotrin’s Santa Flora facility is looking for a new location for her business.
The 65-year old mother of three and grandmother of five said she has to find a way to survive. She is also worried that the closure of the plant will cause an increase in crime in Santa Flora.
“People have loans, vehicles to pay for and who renting will have bills to pay. It will real affect everyone,” Ramkhalawan said.
At a food establishment which used to be patronised by Petrotrin employees, workers reported a decline in sales.
“We had a lapse in sales even before the announcement and things got even more slow after everyone found out Petrotrin was going to close,” one of the employees said.
Unwilling to say if they would have to close their doors as a result, the three-member workforce is hoping the new companies will be able to generate the same kind of income they have become accustomed to.
The situation is much the same in Fyzabad.
Businessman Ajax Johnson, who operates a grocery and lotto both near the Fyzabad Police Station, said sales had slowed considerably since the announcement of the closure of the energy company.
At P Maharaj Gift Centre located downstairs of OWTU Hall at Charlie King Junction, owner/operator Pran Maharaj said sales had slowed over the past two months.
“People have been very careful in how they are shopping. They aren’t sure what’s going to happen to them when they collect their package so they being extremely careful,” he said.