OWTU TO SERVE STRIKE NOTICE ON PETROTRIN

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

OWTU: Comrades the Negotiating team just concluded discussions with the Company officials at the Ministry of Labour and the Company have not moved from their proposal of 0-0-0 for the period 2014-2017 therefore the PG notify the Chief Labour Relations official that the Union will be serving strike notice to president F.Harewood tomorrow morning at 8am. The Union is requesting all Workers to gather at P-a-P roundabout for 7am.Upon serving strike notice the company has 96 hours before the Strike action goes into effect.

[GixxerMan]

It's going to be a long and bumpy ride...

[S_2NR]

OWTU: the company has 96 hours before the Strike action goes into effect.

So gas should be readily available until this weekend?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Devaluation soon?

[The_Honourable]

Let the gas rush begin

[Redman]

So they striking for a raise for the period 14-17...when oil was at 30-50.
Having failed to get something when it was at 100.

Smh.

[SR]

Strike in a declining industry

http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... ebook-post

[Skanky]

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers."-Not George Carlin

That quote is the definition of life in Trinidad and Tobago.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Hema now say the strike begins at 7...awaits minister Dillon to task ttr to assist

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

Hema now say the strike begins at 7...awaits minister Dillon to task ttr to assist

Strike or strike notice?

[cherrypopper]

Notice

[K74T]

[K74T]

[eliteauto]

do unions ever consider economic climates when negotiating? What about job security? How did strong-arming Mittal work out for the representing union? Now is a good time to privatise or public-private partnership for Petrotrin

[RBphoto]

do unions ever consider economic climates when negotiating? What about job security? How did strong-arming Mittal work out for the representing union? Now is a good time to privatise or public-private partnership for Petrotrin

Union leaders do not get elected based on making rational decisions, but on making irrational demands of employers. Whoever is more irrational and millitant usually gets elected.

[tiger balm]

do unions ever consider economic climates when negotiating? What about job security? How did strong-arming Mittal work out for the representing union? Now is a good time to privatise or public-private partnership for Petrotrin

x2. Yip. Local trade unions - still operating in the dark ages when the country and company are in economic hardship. Nothing learnt from the Mittal Steel situation. Guess they're feeling brave as Petrotrin is State owned.

Hopefully the gov't has put things in place to allow them to stand their ground against the union. Can't have these jokers get through with their nonsense when the country and Petrotrin has no money.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2017-01- ... ot-changed

Political backlash if offer not changed




As the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) entered its final round of conciliation talks with Petrotrin yesterday, president general Ancel Roget warned of a major political fallout for the Government if there was no change to the 0-0-0 salary adjustment being offered.

The OWTU entered the Ministry of Labour’s San Fernando office with the strike notice already in hand. If there is no agreement, the union will be marching to the company’s Pointe-a-Pierre office this morning to serve the company with a 90-day strike notice. Once served, Petrotrin has until Sunday before some 4,500 workers officially walk off the job.

At a press conference at the OWTU’s Paramount Building headquarters in San Fernando yesterday, Roget said the Government knew the former People’s Partnership regime was penalising the union for standing up for the country, which benefited the People’s National Movement (PNM). “It is unfair, it is unjust and it is immoral to continue on a wicked path set by Kamla Persad- Bissessar and if they continue with that, well, she paid a political price and that is where I will end on that,” Roget warned.

He said it was interesting that Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Colm Imbert have chosen to remain silent on the wage matter. Reacting to Government spokesmen saying that Petrotrin acted without authority to begin negotiations with the union, Roget rubbished the statement, saying that the company was legally mandated to “meet and treat”, otherwise they could face penalties from the Industrial Court.

Responding to a barrage of criticism from the Employers’ Consultative Association, business chambers and former government ministers, Roget said many of them were only condemning the union because it would disadvantage them. He said when the union highlighted the mismanagement and corruption at Petrotrin, none of them bothered to intervene. He said the same way Government found money to pay public servants their 14 per cent increase, so can they find money for Petrotrin workers.

COST OVERRUNS BECAUSE OF WASTAGE—OWTU

Roget also said workers should not be blamed for Petrotrin’s financial and asset integrity woes.

Producing company documents, he said it was because of failures by the company’s management and successive governments to effectively implement the necessary work. He said these inefficiencies were costing the company $522 million annually.

He said Petrotrin purchases about 155,000 barrels per day in a mixture of local and foreign crude for the Point-a-Pierre refinery.

Local crude accounts for around 45,000 barrels. Therefore, if Petrotrin produces more local crude, it would import less. Production is critically low, but even if output increases, he said the storage capacity has been reduced by 65 per cent within the last three years because the eight tanks that were taken out of service for repairs have not been returned. As a result, the company pays millions in demurrage when tankers have to wait at the port. He said Petrotrin was wasting money by:

1. Award of large contracts. Eg Cleaning seven storage tanks for $24 million.

2. The delay of the Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel plant.

3. Hundreds of millions of dollars to contractors for equipment that the company already has.

4. Millions of dollars in golden handshakes to top company executives.

5. Paying four expatriates $18 million for three-year contracts to replace one refinery manager. He said Petrotrin’s overtime bill last September was $8.7 million, which went up in October to $10.4 million. This was caused by manpower shortages in critical areas of the company

PETROTRIN: UNION BEING UNREASONABLE

With the 2011-2014 negotiating period before the Industrial Court, Petrotrin president Fitzroy Harewood said that should the company have to increase salaries by ten per cent, their wage bill will increase by $165 million at the end of the first period, with a pay-out of over $279 million in retroactive payments. It is the same increase the union is seeking for the period 2014-2017.

However, Roget said the company can afford the increases because several projects, including the World Gas To Liquids and the South West Soldado production facility, for which capital has been acquired, were yet to be completed.

He said the union also put forward a proposal to negotiate how Petrotrin can pay workers over a period of time.

“We are not telling Petrotrin to fork out or to find that retroactive payment. We can sit down and negotiate a way in which they would be paid over time. There are many different initiatives which we are willing to put on the table for how they are going to address the debt, but please sit down and quantify the debt in terms of the rate of increase the Petrotrin workers deserve and must get.”

[RBphoto]

All these skunts in Tropical Plaza calling each other Comrade..not even lunch time.. they even ducking their strike...lol

[matix]

Dumb fcuks.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

I only quoted hema...

Owtu looking to shut down le country while govt on a retreat...nice nice

[cherrypopper]

Looks like a ploy to get the petrotrin employees packin..

I wonder who will own petrotrin next. ..

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

Looks like a ploy to get the petrotrin employees packin..

I wonder who will own petrotrin next. ..

Looks exactly like Carnival 2012.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business-guar ... utor-state

http://www.sky995fm.com/aggregator/sources/5?page=2

[DVSTT]

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers."-Not George Carlin

That quote is the definition of life in Trinidad and Tobago.

QFT

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170104 ... ck-to-work

"Petrotrin workers, ignore your union, go back to work"
...appeal being made by Energy Chamber




THE ENERGY CHAMBER says that the decision of theOWTU to embark on strike action at Petrotrin, is reckless, ill advised, cavalier, potentially costly, and will further weaken the country's economy. The Chamber appealed to workers to ignore the call by their union and go to work in the interest of themselves, families, company and the country.

According to the Chamber: “The decision to strike by the OWTU can only be described as reckless and cavalier and inimical to the interest of the very workers that the OWTU represents. Such action only serves to imperil Petrotrin's survival and cause unnecessary hardship to the citizens of the country.

The Chamber said the majority of the employees of Petrotrin are hardworking, diligent and highly skilled “and, like everyone else, they would like to see improvement in their remuneration packages. But while no one can argue with this desire, the reality is that Petrotrin just cannot afford the increases proposed by the OWTU”.

In response OWTU president general told the Express that when the union spoke about mismanagement at Petrotrin the Energy Chamber said nothing and therefore should not speak up now.

The Chamber noted that in a memo to workers by the company's President Fitzroy Harewood, which revealed that Petrotrin's revenue has declined by more than 50 per cent from TT$37 billion in 2012 to approximately TT$16 billion in 2016, resulting in two years of net after tax losses of TT$819 million for fiscal year 2015 and approximately TT$600 million for fiscal year 2016. The company is also highly leveraged, has a low investment rating and is faced with rising capital and investment costs.

In the memo, Harewood noted that Petrotrin has had to use government-guaranteed loans to finance some of its working capital and trade financing.

“This stark picture does not even take into account Petrotrin's other challenges including aging infrastructure, high lifting costs, low international crude prices, falling refining margins and lower crude production. Petrotrin's very viability is already under threat, even without a damaging strike” the Chamber stated.

“The decision to call strike action should always be taken as a last resort and should be taken only after careful consideration of the likelihood of success and the ability of the employer to meet the demands of the workers. If this is not done, then the union would have failed its members and would have unnecessarily endangered their livelihood. In light Petrotrin's financial state, it is hard to see how any reasonable union would initiate strike action”.

The Chamber said it was deeply concerned about the effect of the strike on the wider local economy and, in particular, the economy of south Trinidad.

“Petrotrin is a very important tax-payer, even in its present financial state. Increasing oil production is one of the very few short-to-medium term revenue raising strategies available to Trinidad & Tobago and Petrotrin has a crucial role to play in this effort. As both a major user of foreign currency, to import crude oil for the refinery, and a major generator of US dollars through sales of refined products, Petrotrin also has a crucial role to play in resolving the current shortages of foreign exchange. The financial state of the company impacts on all our citizens”.

The Chamber said there were rumours that a significant numbers of employees do not wholeheartedly support the strike. This situation begs the question: how many of Petrotrin's workers would vote to strike if there was a secret ballot? This in turn highlights the need for serious reform of our industrial relations framework. We strongly condemn the OWTU's decision to serve strike notice on Petrotrin today. We call on the company's workers to ignore the union's call and to return to work in the interest of themselves, their families, their company and their country”.

[Country_Bookie]

do unions ever consider economic climates when negotiating? What about job security? How did strong-arming Mittal work out for the representing union? Now is a good time to privatise or public-private partnership for Petrotrin

Union leaders do not get elected based on making rational decisions, but on making irrational demands of employers. Whoever is more irrational and millitant usually gets elected.

Roget was elected to a 4th term as OWTU president in December. Probably got elected based on making promises to force the company to give the workers the salary increase, no matter the circumstances or the consequences.

OWTU members also have the ability to embrace selective reality. In their minds, all non-profitable ventures of the company are due to management failings, whereas all profits made are due to the workers. Hence even if the company is making losses, the workers shouldn't be penalized for management missteps.

[16 cycles]

tough situation there with those overheads and aging infrastructure.....hope they don't become the new Caroni 1975...

[hydroep]

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2017-01-03/political-backlash-if-offer-not-changed

Political backlash if offer not changed



At a press conference at the OWTU’s Paramount Building headquarters in San Fernando yesterday, Roget said the Government knew the former People’s Partnership regime was penalising the union for standing up for the country, which benefited the People’s National Movement (PNM). “It is unfair, it is unjust and it is immoral to continue on a wicked path set by Kamla Persad- Bissessar and if they continue with that, well, she paid a political price and that is where I will end on that,” Roget warned.

He said it was interesting that Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Colm Imbert have chosen to remain silent on the wage matter. Reacting to Government spokesmen saying that Petrotrin acted without authority to begin negotiations with the union, Roget rubbished the statement, saying that the company was legally mandated to “meet and treat”, otherwise they could face penalties from the Industrial Court.

Has the Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development, "Comrade" and former PSA President Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, chimed in on this issue as she did with the Mittal situation? If not, it's interesting that Roget hasn't called her out as well.

[bluesclues]

Well they have a point on energy chamber statements. Reports of mismanagement went unchecked. Now they want to intervene but that same management is there at petrotrin. This must be a heads will have to roll situation..which includes the feet draggers at energy chambers upper echelon.

Owtu should then change the strike reasoning to have management replaced and not have it be about money. I could support that. There is no excuse as this is all squarely in the lap of petrotrin's incompetent, visionless and im sure, self gratuitous bonus giving management.

[cherrypopper]

Roget callin Kevin ramnarine instead