OWTU TO SERVE STRIKE NOTICE ON PETROTRIN

[Gladiator]

Question: I was unable to catch the news tonight - strike action confirmed beginning tomorrow ?

Confirmed....Strike from tomorrow!!!

[De Dragon]

I understand janitors are on contract and that petrotrin has no janitors employed with them.

Among other things to look at:

Forest fires, wells have gas vents by the jacks. The gas is flammable

Criminal elements. Squatters stealing electricty and water. The minute the see a company vehicle they about to get violent.

Bullets flying from illegal hunting.

Jep and snake. Having to walk through swamp and doing switching in knee height water. 6600 volt lines.

Men at power station sitting around transformers that can go boom at anytime.

Climbing poles and roasting on top them for hours to repair connections, make new connections, lighting etc etc.
Most men in here never get a 440v shock yet, hand burn business.
Dont talk about climbing a pole with jep or bee in it.

H2s areas, noise from rigs.

When electricty run down a hot stick to meet you on the ground. Have to drop it and run.

6600v line flash when they touch, tree fall on it or something hit it. Big man run already.

Well blow out alone? Had a blow out and fire caught many years ago. Everything was burning. A cousin of mine had to get skin grafts.

various illegal electrical connection in the bush and in water that you can get shocked from.

Molten steel and aluminum raining down on you when a line tap burn out.

Slips, trips, strains etc

Steam blow out is a thing to see. Breaker blow up or arc off.

Working in pitch black with mosquito all over you. I mean covered in mosquito.
Some place so dark and bush so tall you cant see in front you. Have to wave your torch light for someone to tell you what direction to walk.

Fall intona hole, fall into a river, cut a tree that fall across high tension lines and it spring back licking down a man.

Usual falling objects from the rig, vibrations, noise etc

Nerve I hear you, but many of those things can be mitigated by proper risk assessments and job planning. If there is something to strike and protest about, then poor HSE practices, or hazardous working conditions should be it. Will a higher salary mitigate those risks and working conditions? I doubt it.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Strike could lead to $9 to US$1

Trinidad Guardian - A warning that should Petrotrin workers go on strike for a prolonged period of time it could lead to a devaluation of the Trinidad and Tobago dollar against other major currencies with it hitting TT $9 to US $1.

That is the prediction from economist Dr Roger Hosein who pointed out that with the TT dollar already under pressure and with a fall in the price of the country's major export commodities and production of both crude oil and natural gas curtailed, there are already foreign exchange shortages. In an emailed response to Sunday Guardian questions, Hoseinsaid: “A strike would precipitate a fall in export of refined petroleum products and serve the economy a further foreign exchange blow, at a time when it is perhaps most unwanted. It is likely the value of our currency would have to take a hit with conversion ratio of TT$9 to US$1 becoming a real possibility.”

He added, “We are very well aware of the decreasing foreign exchange earnings of the Trinidad and Tobago economy associated with declining price and production of its main export good. In 2011 Trinidad and Tobago exported 41.2mn barrels of petroleum products but by 2015 this declined to 34.2mn barrels.”

Already strike action in the energy sector has had a negative effect on the country’s foreign exchange situation. In October, the Oilfields Workers Trade Union started strike action against a company called Island Offshore Contractors Limited. That is the company that provided most of the boats to transport workers from Trinmar’s Point Fortin base to its offshore operations. In addition the company provides emergency support and other services to Petrotrin to keep its Trinmar operations going.

The OWTU initiated strike action to force IOCL to pay wages similar to those of Petrotrin workers and in the process has led to IOCL unable to provide transportation services to Petrotrin.

In a letter to the Minister of Energy, Petrotrin’s President Fitzroy Harewood noted that this has had the effect of disrupting production to the extent that Trinmar’s production has fallen by over 2,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). This is oil that the company now has to use foreign exchange to buy. If the 2,000 bopd is multiplied by the average price of crude for December using WTI prices at US 52.67 a barrel, Petrotrin would have had to spend US $3.157 million that would had ordinarily stayed in T&T. Put another way, if the average person traveling requires US $1,000 then that could have allowed 3,175 people to get the foreign exchange from the banks in December with no hassle.

Dr Hosein noted that the strike action would in particular harm the economies of towns that depend on Petrotrin’s activities for their sustenance. He pointed to ordinary people who the University of the West Indies lecturer said would be negatively impacted.

“Strike action by state-owned Petrotrin would compromise spill over economic activity in these communities with adverse consequences for the souse man, the pudding man, the gyro man and the little lady hustling geera pork. Collectively, this would affect the amount of value added tax revenues collected which in 2015/2016 was already approximately 50 per cent short of what was forecast,” Hosein told the Sunday Guardian.

The OWTU has initiated strike action over the failure of its members to get a pay raise for the last six years. The Union has accused the company and the former UNC government of victimisation. However a blog on the website of the Energy Chamber compares salaries at Petrotrin with the rest of the energy sector and the state owned company’s workers appear to be doing relatively well. (See sidebar) For example, a truck driver earns $17,000 a month at Petrotrin while in the industry the driver earns $8,000. A fabricator gets $20,000 a month at Petrotrin and in the energy sector the average salary for a similar position is $11,000.

In light of this Dr Hosein has warned that any increase in salary must be carefully thought through. He cited as an example the decision by the last government to settle just before the last general elections with public servants at a 14 per cent increase which has now ballooned the government’s wage bil.

He said: “Note that government wages and salaries in the period October 2010 to September 2011 was TT$7.2bn or 14.4 per cent of total government expenditure but by October 2015 to September 2016 this had increased to TT$9.8bn or 28.7 per cent of total government expenditure.

"Even more the global competitive rank for Trinidad and Tobago slid from 84 in 2010 to 94 in 2016. One has to ask the question of how would an across-the-board increase in wages in double digit terms, further affect the global competitiveness ranking of the T&T economy in general and of its Dutch Diseased manufacturing and export agricultural sectors.”

Hosein told the Sunday Guardian that given that Petrotrin profits has been falling in recent times, an increase in labour costs can potentially trigger a further fall in net profitability and may possibly promote a further downgrade of Petrotrin and the national economy by major credit rating agencies.

“This is not to be taken lightly as such a change increases the cost of borrowing foreign capital to the economy as a whole. If fiscal expenditures by the state were to increase and its revenue intake in the context of the strike were to fall then the economy’s fiscal balance may worsen and its debt level mount. If debt and GDP were to move in the opposite direction, the economy’s debt to GDP ratio may climb even further,” Hosein noted.

Even more he pointed to the the labour productivity index as published by the Central Bank which showed that since 2013, the productivity of workers in the economy has been falling and so wage demands have to be tempered against such a trend.

ENERGY CHAMBER SURVEY

On Friday, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries said contingency plans were in place to ensure the safe, reliable and continued delivery of products to consumers across T&T, including the marine and aviation industry, should strike action be taken.

In a release, following similar remarks by Acting Energy Minister Colm Imbert in Parliament, the ministry said it was aware of the proposed strike called by the OWTU at Petrotrin scheduled for Monday.

"As such, the ministry is already in contact with the management at Petrotrin and other relevant agencies, including the Ministry of National Security, Trinidad & Tobago National Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (NPMC) and United Independent Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (UNIPET) on their plans to treat with any issues which may arise from the impending strike action."

The release said the ministry will continue to monitor the situation and, if necessary, implement appropriate measures to protect and preserve the public interest.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2017-01- ... lead-9-us1

[The_Honourable]

Some photos of strike camps being set up across petrotrin facilities during the weekend

[De Dragon]

^^^The irony of that second pic.............................

[The_Honourable]

The Energy Chamber Comparing Apples and Oranges

The Energy Chamber produced a survey which attempted to suggest to the public that the salary of Petrotrin workers is above Trinidad and Tobago’s industry standards. However, this report does nothing more than raise several fundamental questions about how workers are viewed and treated in Trinidad and Tobago.

Firstly, the Energy Chamber needs to clarify which companies were surveyed in order to determine the ‘rest of the sector’? Did it include Atlantic LNG, BP, BG, BHP Billiton etc.? If so, it would only be fair, and also interesting, for the Energy Chamber to publish the pay rates of these Multinationals. In addition to not including Multinationals, the survey did not include companies such as YARA. If their survey did not include the Multinationals operating in Trinidad and Tobago, then it is flawed and cannot be said to compare Petrotrin’s wages to the ‘rest of the sector’.

Secondly, the survey failed to take into consideration that Petrotrin is an integrated production and refining company, and it is the only such company in Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, Petrotrin cannot and should not be compared to any other industry. How can you compare refinery workers when there are no other refinery companies in Trinidad and Tobago? The answer is simple: you cannot.

Therefore, since there are no comparators in Trinidad and Tobago, Petrotrin can only be compared to the global average. This is not difficult for the Energy Chamber to produce as the average global salaries for oil and gas can be found in the Hay’s Oil and Gas Salary Guide 2015. According to the report “Over the past 12 months, we have seen the average global permanent salary increase by 1.3 per cent from last years’ average salary of US$82,239 (TT$575,673 ). This breaks down into a local talent average of US$71,569 (TT$500,983), and an expat talent average of US$99,013 (TT$693,091). The average contractor day rate globally in 2014 was US$540 per day (TT$3780)”.

The Hay’s Oil and Gas Salary Guide further stated that the average annual salary for an intermediate person working in the electrical field was US$48,500/year (TT$28,300/month), and US$70,000/year (TT$ 40,800/month) at the senior level. In the mechanical area, the average annual salary at the intermediate level was US$42,600/year (TT$24,850/month), and US$62,000/year (TT$36,166/month) at the senior level.

The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union is positive that no electrical or mechanical employee of Petrotrin earns anything close to the intermediate level, far less the senior level. Therefore, when considering the global and regional average, Petrotrin’s only comparators, the Energy Chamber’s survey should have revealed the truth: that contractor workers in the oil and gas service companies of Trinidad and Tobago are in fact significantly underpaid.

Thirdly, it is unfortunate that the Energy Chamber’s survey follows the apparent trend of publishing the salary of ordinary workers, as they conveniently omitted the pay of Petrotrin Executives. It is only fair that the country also knows the Executives’ salary and not only that of Petrotrin’s cleaners (which is inaccurate). Petrotrin’s President receives TT$180,000 per month, the Vice President is paid TT$120,000 per month, and senior managers receive some $64,000 per month. Not to mention the salary of the four expat managers at the refinery which accounts for TT$6 million per year. While this disparity is extreme, the situation in the private sector oil and gas service companies is indeed worse.

As a result, the wider discourse should be about how underpaid workers are in general throughout Trinidad and Tobago rather than the propaganda being mounted against Petrotrin workers founded on inaccurate salaries and surveys. When we consider the workers who are not unionized, then we have to take a comprehensive look at workers who are paid under what can be considered a living wage. How many are denied basic terms and conditions? How many face the threat of losing their jobs, and therefore must accept working for next to nothing, and under very unsafe environments at great risk to themselves? How many of these workers’ rights to join a trade union are violated on a daily basis? These are the questions that the Energy Chamber should publicly address.

Finally, the public should not forget that the general strike and labour riots of 1937 started by oil workers in the oil fields that spread throughout the country’s working class was vociferously condemned by the colonial authorities and the business class. However, militant actions led to the rise of general wages throughout the economy benefitting the entire country. The militant action of the OWTU in the 60s and 70s led by George Weekes was also condemned by the government and business class, but those actions also led to the general increase in the standard of living for the entire working class. Today is no different, as too many labourers working for oil and gas service companies are being left behind, and the time has come once again to make things right. This is what the Energy Chamber’s survey has truly revealed.

Ozzi Warwick
Chief Education and Research Officer
Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union

Source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/oilfield ... 6713278662

[Morpheus]

^^^The irony of that second pic.............................

LoL ent. First thing I noticed. They strike from OSHA too?

[Redman]

Yes Ozzi,..
Tell them.
Petrotrin is unique.

What's the global average of production per employee?
What's the output per employee at those companies in the Hayes report.

Have they downsized?
Are they enjoying the same benefits from their employers?
Subsidized gas?
Free education?


Ozzi yuh stirring up emotions

And you need to show some pays slips.
And charts.

[gastly369]

So was de menu by dem tent...Could like up ah bredda with ah lil plate ah food orr?

[De Dragon]

Yes Ozzi,..
Tell them.
Petrotrin is unique.

What's the global average of production per employee?
What's the output per employee at those companies in the Hayes report.

Have they downsized?
Are they enjoying the same benefits from their employers?
Subsidized gas?
Free education?


Ozzi yuh stirring up emotions

And you need to show some pays slips.
And charts.

Ironic that Warwick would accuse the Chamber of being disingenuous, then in the same breath do the very same thing by not mentioning tax rates, health care, retirement benefits etc. These multinationals pay a lot of money due to their non-provision of a lot of these benefits. Basically they pay you a bag of money and you handle your stories.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

Outstanding Collective Agreements Un-resolved

...the Company offered an interim payment of 3% for the three year
agreements covering the period 2011 – 2014/2015 while the Union maintained their request for a
10% settlement for the same period with deferral of retroactive payments.
With respect to the three year agreements covering the period 2014 – 2017/2018 the union
offered to withdraw strike action served for this period on the premise that a settlement for the
previous period is achieved.
Despite the lengthy discussions and the ongoing intervention of the Minister of Labour and
Enterprise development, no agreement has been arrived at and the talks are continuing...

[Redman]

Petrotrin offers 3% which is close to the 1.3% over a 12 mnth period.

[De Dragon]

Taking bets that good sense will prevail and GORTT's offer will be accepted.

[K74T]

[nervewrecker]

I understand janitors are on contract and that petrotrin has no janitors employed with them.

Among other things to look at:

Forest fires, wells have gas vents by the jacks. The gas is flammable

Criminal elements. Squatters stealing electricty and water. The minute the see a company vehicle they about to get violent.

Bullets flying from illegal hunting.

Jep and snake. Having to walk through swamp and doing switching in knee height water. 6600 volt lines.

Men at power station sitting around transformers that can go boom at anytime.

Climbing poles and roasting on top them for hours to repair connections, make new connections, lighting etc etc.
Most men in here never get a 440v shock yet, hand burn business.
Dont talk about climbing a pole with jep or bee in it.

H2s areas, noise from rigs.

When electricty run down a hot stick to meet you on the ground. Have to drop it and run.

6600v line flash when they touch, tree fall on it or something hit it. Big man run already.

Well blow out alone? Had a blow out and fire caught many years ago. Everything was burning. A cousin of mine had to get skin grafts.

various illegal electrical connection in the bush and in water that you can get shocked from.

Molten steel and aluminum raining down on you when a line tap burn out.

Slips, trips, strains etc

Steam blow out is a thing to see. Breaker blow up or arc off.

Working in pitch black with mosquito all over you. I mean covered in mosquito.
Some place so dark and bush so tall you cant see in front you. Have to wave your torch light for someone to tell you what direction to walk.

Fall intona hole, fall into a river, cut a tree that fall across high tension lines and it spring back licking down a man.

Usual falling objects from the rig, vibrations, noise etc

Nerve I hear you, but many of those things can be mitigated by proper risk assessments and job planning. If there is something to strike and protest about, then poor HSE practices, or hazardous working conditions should be it. Will a higher salary mitigate those risks and working conditions? I doubt it.

You saying the same thing I saying now.
The salary is usually higher with the risk involved. But with proper risk assessments, planning etc most of those can be mitigated against. But lets face it, shi!t happens eh. Some of the smaller risks can be taken as the outcome is not so dangerous.
Salary already exceptionally high and the company didnt do so 100 as of recent so chill out and try to increase the output.


I may be mistaken but not an utterance about working conditions and making men permanent. Them bad roads damaging men spine and if a permanent man take a day off work cant do (thats how badly understaffed some departments are)

[Redman]

Taking bets that good sense will prevail and GORTT's offer will be accepted.

From some of the comments here good sense isn't prevalent...

And like my 7 year old son asked....don't they appreciate what they are getting?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Just heard the strike is now delayed for 1 hour until 11am.
Petrotrin apparently offered 5% increase (up from their 3% offer) so they are currently in negotiations with the OWTU.
If they can both settle at 5%-7% the strike may be called off!!!

[shake d livin wake d dead]

8-1 USD in the making

[nervewrecker]

Corn soup afterwork lime by petrotrin gate?

[gastly369]

Corn soup afterwork lime by petrotrin gate?

Tell dem share nah I wah Palau and cold slaw

[V2NR 3.0]

This morning the entrance to Petrotrin was absolutely empty on the side by the highway (Gasparillo) What's normally jam packed with lines and lines of traffic was like a Sunday morning.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

Just heard the strike is now delayed for 1 hour until 11am.
Petrotrin apparently offered 5% increase (up from their 3% offer) so they are currently in negotiations with the OWTU.
If they can both settle at 5%-7% the strike may be called off!!!

Delayed till noon now...seems to be that the two parties are making some form of progress.

[cherrypopper]

That's great I almost on e

[rebound]

^^^The irony of that second pic.............................

LoL ent. First thing I noticed. They strike from OSHA too?

I am sure the workers would find a way to blame Management and Government for that unsafe act...

[aaron17]

They say blame imbert

[Redman]

Im hearing 6%

[Cantmis]

How do I join owtu ?

[abbow]

well thats good they can work things out....but will all of this help boost productivity at Petrotrin and by a larger extent the rest of the country? Where are we heading with diversification?

[silent_riot]

Call 652-OWTU to join

[The_Honourable]

Unconfirmed reports that a 5% agreement has been reached