Solidarity for OWTU from World Federation of Trade Unions

As the crucial meeting between the Board of Petrotrin and the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) takes place this morning, unions across the world are extending messages of solidarity with their colleagues in TT.

Among them, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). The WFTU, which represents more than 92 million workers in 126 countries across the globe, has declared its internationalist solidarity with their colleagues in the OWTU., who have been waging a struggle against the government’s plans to sell the assets of the Petroleum Company of TT, and against the retrenchment of hundreds of workers.

There is speculation that the restructuring exercise at Petrotrin would entail the loss of jobs of some 2,500 workers.

WFTU said as international class-oriented trade union movement, “We have underlined on several occasions that the energy-producing resources are, and must continue to be, peoples’ property, as they have been built on the sweat and labour of many workers. As the OWTU affiliates said, "The people who are turning the wheels of the economy are being treated like the dregs of society."

They said, "the big WFTU trade union family sends its solidarity to all workers of TT and guarantees them that it will firmly continue on their side, in their just struggle for the energy sovereignty of their people. At the same time, we call upon every class-oriented and militant trade union to demonstrate its solidarity with our class brothers and sisters in Trinidad and Tobago. All national resources belong to the people and the working class. Long live internationalist solidarity."