OWTU TO SERVE STRIKE NOTICE ON PETROTRIN

[InsanityReigns]

So the world trade union or wtu supports owtu to the maximum and states it is beyond comparison cuz the hazards associated with oilfield jobs are highly fatal and as this industry still brings in the largest part of the pie to this country, it is unreasonable of any governing entity not to grant the increase especially after 6 years of no increase and ignorance by the company to pay the agreed bonuses and remuneration when others less deserving have gotten much more.

I say let's strike and see how far this country goes without our oil and support. Then you will value our contribution.

Yup agreed.

[Redman]

company to pay the agreed bonuses and remuneration when [b]others less deserving have gotten much more.[/b]

And here it is .....allyuh deserve more.

You act like with out this batch of workers, the oil will disappear and the refinery cannot ever operate again and we will come to an end.

Necessity is the mother of invention..there are always alternatives.....and none of us here are irreplaceable.

Cept BC...cuz he jus different....and Effectic cuz of his neighbor stories

[acesinghit]

Petrotrin in 2015 and 2016 makes a loss of $819 million and $533 million respectively. If we add previous years where the tax payers had to bailout this company it would Billions of dollars. This is an organization where most employees dont do much work and employees take advantage of their rights because of union membership. Corruption and high levels of nepotism caps it off for now. They are amongst some of the highest paid salaried individuals in the country. Look at the houses they have, the vehicles they drive and the lifestyles they enjoy. Yet, with a lack of innovation and for doing nothing except making another loss. They deserve an increase. If there is anyone who is offended by this, we are to be blamed for this monster created. If you go back into history, these Trade Unions and the PNM are to be blamed for this. The only way to cancel this cancer in our economy is to shut down Petrotrin and perhaps start up something fresh but with private investing only. They not humble enough to accept well its better to have a job than none at all and perhaps since I did not contribute any profit to the company why expect a raise in salary? I suppose employees dream to live in Gulf View and drive black Prados but when that is achieved, their greed will turn to aircrafts, yachts and perhaps islands. These employees should be thanking their idols and lucky stars that they not working in the Banks, Insurance Companies and Conglomerates etc...that poor work ethic would have had them jobless long time. Ancil Roget probably want to upgrade to the Bentley Bentayga while he laughs his way to the bank teller.

[Dizzy28]

So the world trade union or wtu supports owtu to the maximum and states it is beyond comparison cuz the hazards associated with oilfield jobs are highly fatal and as this industry still brings in the largest part of the pie to this country, it is unreasonable of any governing entity not to grant the increase especially after 6 years of no increase and ignorance by the company to pay the agreed bonuses and remuneration when others less deserving have gotten much more.

I say let's strike and see how far this country goes without our oil and support. Then you will value our contribution.

Let garbage men strike and see how fast you value their contributions.

[pjfred]

Good thing I recycle

[bluesclues]

Garbage men getting 12k a month workin 2x 4 hr shift a day. Them have no reason to be striking right now. Just like owtu... now is not the time. But u have to blame the union agreement. What kind of agreement promises wage hikes regardless of company performance, and regardless of economic performance within a state company? Whoevrer forge these agreements just creating nipples to suck.. and owtu have all intention of sucking. A downsizing is on the cards. Too much steady losses. Positions have to made redundant. Start looking for a new wuk. But they know... nowhere else in the country will pay what they get from petrotrin so they have no negotiating power. They have much more to lose if they lose their wuk or worse if petrotrin shuts down or restructure.

Had they increased production it may be justified. But the people of tnt get nothing but decline for all their 'guaranteed rises' for every 4 year period. They dont deserve a raise. And i think its the people of trinidad and tobago that pay their salaries that decide that. What kind of employee asks for a raise in a decline of the company?

But ur point is taken. Fact is... if any of us strike in our sector the entire country will suffer. If teachers dont go to work school closed for the term. I sure owtu workers would like that. Hell, if all the fastfood workers strike and stay home most of allyuh starve and dead on the street.

[Gladiator]

Garbage men getting 12k a month workin 2x 4 hr shift a day. Them have no reason to be striking right now. Just like owtu... now is not the time. But u have to blame the union agreement. What kind of agreement promises wage hikes regardless of company performance, and regardless of economic performance within a state company? Whoevrer forge these agreements just creating nipples to suck.. and owtu have all intention of sucking. A downsizing is on the cards. Too much steady losses. Positions have to made redundant. Start looking for a new wuk. But they know... nowhere else in the country will pay what they get from petrotrin so they have no negotiating power. They have much more to lose if they lose their wuk or worse if petrotrin shuts down or restructure.

Had they increased production it may be justified. But the people of tnt get nothing but decline for all their 'guaranteed rises' for every 4 year period. They dont deserve a raise. And i think its the people of trinidad and tobago that pay their salaries that decide that. What kind of employee asks for a raise in a decline of the company?

But ur point is taken. Fact is... if any of us strike in our sector the entire country will suffer. If teachers dont go to work school closed for the term. I sure owtu workers would like that. Hell, if all the fastfood workers strike and stay home most of allyuh starve and dead on the street.

Gee dem blue boy.............Gee dem!!!

[pugboy]

like everybody forget how hassanali butter his salary and pension before he left the job and fix up a couple other high level managers too

[GixxerMan]

like everybody forget how hassanali butter his salary and pension before he left the job and fix up a couple other high level managers too

and you point is?..... Malcolm Jones and Andrew Jupiter did no wrong? ....they were saints?

[Redman]

like everybody forget how hassanali butter his salary and pension before he left the job and fix up a couple other high level managers too

All levels of employees exploit their positions at Petrotrin.
Roget and they should have striked (struck?)for the resolution of those matters AND for the botched Soldado contracts etc

but with the vested interests as they are with the big wigs on all sides coining off the Petrotrin teat its unlikely that anything will change.

[pugboy]

Point is from top down the place is freeness

Btw you is hassanali family ?

like everybody forget how hassanali butter his salary and pension before he left the job and fix up a couple other high level managers too

and you point is?..... Malcolm Jones and Andrew Jupiter did no wrong? ....they were saints?

[The_Honourable]

The answer to your question about why Petrotrin workers get a high salary is because of the risk and health issues working there. Almost 90% of the workers will or already have some form of cancer from that refinery. Even if you work in the so called safe area like the admin building. All the evidence to this is there but not made public.
A piece of jewelery will be tarnished in just a few months from the exposure to the refinery. There are areas that if rain fall you have to shelter as the rain will be acidic in that area. I could go on an on with steam,noise,radiation, gas release and other things.

They willing to take the risk for the money. If they leave they not going to get a job that is equivalent that will maintain their current lifestyle.

Due to inflation, at some point in time, the risk is not worth the money. At this point if the money increases the risk will be worth it. And that is one reason they are fighting for more money.

Boy a 25 cents does turn black in a week. A visitor to pap refinery can't even take the smell of the refinery some even get sick for example the bank workers who vacate the banks at tropical plaza every time there's an emission. They close up the banks and go home. The Petrotrin worker however continues working, risking life, limb and health.

Ah that's why the salary comes into play. You think u will risk dying from cancer, injury and otherwise and leave a huge medical bill for your wife and chirren to pay off when yuh dead for minimum wage?

Them fellas with chrome finishes on their cars also does feel the pinch when their 1 year old vehicle starts to show rust and the finish start turning black.

Half of the light poles that faces the boilers are rusted. The other half away from the boilers are like brand new. When you see this your blood will crawl and will make your pores raise.

So Inflation wasn't the only thing that went up over the past few years, i am guessing the risks working at petrotrin went up also since the company was not improving the working conditions of workers and not maintaining their equipment to proper quality standards. Maybe if this did happen, workers may not be demanding salary increases and be more sympathetic towards the company's financial position. Higher the risk, higher the salary... fair enough.

I wish risk assessment reports at Petrotrin could be released to the public at this time so that the public themselves can see through the eyes of the worker. I know that the company had risks decades now... and I believe is only by grace nothing major happened.

[Joshie23]

Just asking valid Socialist questions here...

The basis of the Trade Union Movement is to strive for equity of social and economic opportunity for Labour. This is a given.

1) The central irony of the strike though...based upon the socialist argument...is that Petrotrin workers are already enjoying an inequitably large portion of the state's recurrent salary expenditure....added to this inequity are all the perks of the job that the workers enjoy...from housing to recreation.

2) A simple question: Why do Petrotrin workers....a state owned enterprise deserve such high salaries when the rest of the society barely getting by?

3) is it a matter of levels of education? Well.teachers and doctors are also well educated...i dont see them raking in tens of thousands.
4) is it a matter of skill? Well the janitor at Marios cleans just as skillfully as the Petrotrin ones.
is it a matter of levels of risk? Well by that same token the police men should be paid unreasonably highly also.

cheers.

Are you special?? Talking chupidness with for chupidness' sake is funny..when you're talking chupidness while trying to make sense, it tends to be annoying.

1) How many Petrotrin workers do you know enjoy FREE housing or recreation, courtesy the Company?? You seem well informed, so if you're talking about your brother or sister in upper Management, good for them because, not everyone benefits from it.

2) What do you consider a 'high salary'?? What do you consider 'barely getting by'? If you're just barely getting by then fine, but I don't think the rest of the country wants you to put your mouth on them. Things are hard yes, but barely getting by, I think not. Higher salaries are paid for higher risk jobs and/or higher risk environments. Have you ever experienced a well blowout? A leak on a high pressure gas line??

3) In 2012, a Teacher 3 was making just under $10,000 a month. Do they get paid when they're home for 13 of the 52 weeks of the year, plus their 14 days sick leave?? I'm asking. As for the doctors, other than interns, who still make a decent salary, I don't know what doctors you're talking about that don't make tens of thousands..if not, what's the point?

4) See point no. 1. Mario's vs Petrotrin? Really? Also, I shouldn't have to tell you to not believe everything you see on the news, or maybe I do..who knows. Do you know any Petrotrin janitors on staff?? As for the police, I agree that people who put their lives at risk on a daily basis, should be compensated adequately.

I think either 1) Petrotrin blanked you a few times, 2) a Petrotrin man took your girl, 3) You saw some similar sentiments and decided to jump on the bandwagon or 4) a combination of all three.

like everybody forget how hassanali butter his salary and pension before he left the job and fix up a couple other high level managers too

and you point is?..... Malcolm Jones and Andrew Jupiter did no wrong? ....they were saints?

They're all to blame. Who in their right mind negotiated an $850 million dollar bullet payment?? What's to show for it?? Why are the bigwigs not behind bars?? We talk about higher salaries for higher risk and we handle these risks well. These managers, senior managers, VP's, the President, not to mention the Board of Directors are highly paid for their positions to make critical decisions..do they handle their task well?? From engineering decisions to financial, poor decisions have been made, with little to no accountability. I understand the economic situation so as I said I don't want a strike but this massive beat up reminds me of the General Election in 2015, with one group of people against the other while we're treated as pawns of a political chess game. Yes, Petrotrin workers are well paid. Yes, some of us are lazy. But at the same time, some of us work years, as temp/casual home every 6 weeks with no benefits other than the 'high' salary you all hate us for, some retire that way. Most of us work on or around volatile equipment. Some, you can anticipate when sh*t's about to get real and evacuate, others..well your family will tell your story based on the findings of the investigation. I understand the anger and what not but direct it at the ones who have made terrible decisions on behalf of Petrotrin or T&TEC or WASA or every other entity that has been poorly managed and the politicians who put them there and let's band together to pull them down and move our country forward but those last few words are probably in vain because there are some people who are just hell bent on division and taking chain up. Oh well.

[litos]

So the world trade union or wtu supports owtu to the maximum and states it is beyond comparison cuz the hazards associated with oilfield jobs are highly fatal and as this industry still brings in the largest part of the pie to this country, it is unreasonable of any governing entity not to grant the increase especially after 6 years of no increase and ignorance by the company to pay the agreed bonuses and remuneration when others less deserving have gotten much more.

I say let's strike and see how far this country goes without our oil and support. Then you will value our contribution.

Careful pjfred...your bigotry is showing
i wouldnt say the Police or Teachers or Firemen or Public servants are less deserving at all...maybe even more deserving than overpaid overindulged and overcompensated oil men.

Learn to hide behind sarcasm instead my dear dear friend.

[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

[nervewrecker]

I sure if most men hear a fuse blow they quaking in a corner.

[pjfred]

A top heavy company like us that was pilfered by the all government and their directors yet nobody was fired or held responsible like Malcolm Jones but yet u make statements like that!!! I will shut down this country cuz of people like u litos who too stupid and willing to bite the hand that feeds you.

[teems1]

A top heavy company like us that was pilfered by the all government and their directors yet nobody was fired or held responsible like Malcolm Jones but yet u make statements like that!!! I will shut down this country cuz of people like u litos who too stupid and willing to bite the hand that feeds you.

How can't you see that making a 500m loss annually and still demanding a wage increase reeks of entitlement.

Why don't you strike to fix management and become a profitable company first, then the wage negotiations can come after?

[litos]

A top heavy company like us that was pilfered by the all government and their directors yet nobody was fired or held responsible like Malcolm Jones but yet u make statements like that!!! I will shut down this country cuz of people like u litos who too stupid and willing to bite the hand that feeds you.

No need to get ignorant pjfred...

just men having a small civil discussion....

so you shutting down the country to spite me...real logic there my dear dear friend.

[hydroep]

According to the report just carried on TV6, Roget "understands" that certain friends of the Government stand to benefit from this strike by importing and selling fuel to Petrotrin at prices which the company will have to pay. Interesting.

[bluesclues]

I will just say, i was unsatisfied with my pay grade at the company i worked for.. so i left and started my own business.

[Redman]

According to the report just carried on TV6, Roget "understands" that certain friends of the Government stand to benefit from this strike by importing and selling fuel to Petrotrin at prices which the company will have to pay. Interesting.

A dotish statement.

If Petrotrin has to buy fuel....who would Roget be happy to buy fuel from?

Somebody has to supply...and at that level all political parties are friendly with the suppliers.

It would be nearly 2 USD per USG to land diesel here.

At least it eh SIS supplying...cuz it wudda be 15 USD per liter.

[timothymcdavid]

If Petrotrin has been losing money continuously (heard last 10yrs) I dont see how the company can afford to pay increased wages to its workers at this time far less the implied back pay.

So what the union wants is for the trinbago taxpayers is to further subsidize the workers salary demands.

The only way I can see increased wages being paid at this time is for the union to agree that the company needs to be restructured along with the resulting job losses that such a restructuring would require both at the executive, managerial, supervisory & rank and file levels.

[Triniak47]

[Triniak47]

Imagine a loss making company that pays billions in taxes.

[Triniak47]

Those billions pay the salaries of others

[trishala]

Imagine Petrotrin operating at A loss
And they still want increase

[Ted_v2]

So, i should fullup all my cars? or just rally and see when this thing bubble over?

[Redman]

Imagine a loss making company that pays billions in taxes.

Imagine if they were actually producing oil in the double digits per employee....being an oil co and stuff.

Are those taxes or royalties?

If they are taxes ....what on?

Oh and if that's the Guardian men here would ask for more proof cuz Guardian is crap.

[V2NR 3.0]

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