The Industrial Court is scheduled to deliver its decision on the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union’s application for an injunction stopping Petrotrin from starting the termination of workers on Monday afternoon.
A five-member panel of judges, led by the court’s president Deborah Thomas-Felix, yesterday reserved their decision on the issue after presiding over a marathon hearing at the court’s Port-of-Spain headquarters, which ended around 7 pm.
In the application, the union is seeking an injunction barring Petrotrin from beginning the process of terminating workers until its substantive complaint against the company for allegedly committing an industrial relations offence is determined.
OWTU is alleging that Petrotrin committed the offence by failing to consult with it before taking the decision to close the company and send home almost 5,000 workers.
“You have to consult at a formative stage, not when you have already made the decision. You are basically mamaguying people,” Douglas Mendes SC said as he claimed the company only consulted with his client after it had made the decision, in conjunction with Cabinet, in August.
Mendes alleged that the company was bound by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in April, in which the parties agreed to work together to make the company competitive and profitable. However, he admitted that even with consultation the company could have still ended up in the current position.
“The union does not say that the company could not change its mind or does not have the power to shut down if it wants,” Mendes said, as he suggested consultation would have given the thousands of workers facing unemployment dignity.
In response, Reginald Armour SC, who is leading the company’s legal team, described the move by the union as a legal subterfuge designed to delay the inevitable. Armour said the company signed the MOA after positive talks with the union, but had to change its mind on the way forward after its energy consultants suggested that shutting down the company would be the only viable way to meet its billion-dollar debt obligations.
Armour said the company was required to consult with the Government first as it is its sole shareholder. He claimed that while the company was firm in its position that closure was the best option, it was still willing to listen to viable alternatives when the union was consulted in late August. He noted that the union was yet to produce a suitable alternative. Armour also said the company was not legally bound to consult before deciding to close its operations.
Questioned by Industrial Court Judge Albert Aberdeen on the Government’s proposed plan to restart Petrotrin’s profitable exploration and production operations after the company’s closure, Armour said a final decision on the plan is yet to be determined. Armour also could not explain why Government had selected the end of next month for the closure.
In its submissions, attorneys representing the Office of the Attorney General presented statements from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance over the impact the injunction may have on the economy.
Seenath Jairam SC alleged that the injunction would lead to a downgrading of the country’s credit rating by international agencies such as Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.
“These agencies would continue to treat us like a banana republic and downgrade us,” Jairam said.
Jairam, whose client was only granted permission to intervene in the case yesterday morning, spent a considerable amount of time describing Petrotrin’s financial impact on T&T.
“It is bleeding the economy and depriving citizens of this country,” Jairam said.
Jairam claimed the decision to close next month was taken as the company would need time to refinance its debt, which includes a US$850 million bond, which is due in August next year.
During yesterday’s hearing, Thomas-Felix asked the parties if they wished to forgo the injunction and expedite the union’s industrial relations offence complaint. Thomas-Felix suggested it could be completed before Government’s November 30 deadline for closing the company.
While Jairam and Armour agreed, Mendes claimed his clients would feel more comfortable if they had a court-ordered injunction in place.
The union is also being represented by Anthony Bullock, while Derek Ali, Vanessa Gopaul and Marcelle Ferdinand are appearing alongside Armour for Petrotrin. Attorney Rishi Dass and Darryl Allahar are also on the State’s legal team.