Union: Refinery closure rocked country more than quake

AS if the Dr Keith Rowley administration wants to outdo the effects of the recent earthquake, it decided to rock TT even more with Petrotrin’s announcement of the closure of the refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre.

Secretary-general of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) Clyde Elder made the statement today at a press conference at the headquarters of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union ( BIGWU) at Eighth Street in Barataria.

“I want the board of Petrotrin to know that what they had just done is announce war on the trade union movement. This fight is not a Petrortin-OWTU fight. It is a fight for every single citizen of TT, because if oil is our main stake, where are we now to get the income to survive as a country?” Elder said.

Elder was among nine representatives who expressed solidity with the Oilfield Workers Trade Union, a fellow member of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM).

Like other members of JTUM, Elder repeatedly condemned the decision by Petrotrin to shut down the refinery, saying the decision came without consultation with the union. He called on the board of Petrotrin to immediately withdraw its decision.

“Are we going to sell oil to buy back oil? So we are going to sell the cow to buy back milk. That does not make sense,” Elder said.

Yesterday Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet announced the closure of its refinery, which he described as a cancer that cost the company billions in loss and debts.

Today general secretary of BIGWU Trevor Johnson accused the government of giving away the energy sovereignty of the country just days before the citizens celebrate Independence Day. The decision, he said, not only affected the workers but the economy.

“This is our national patrimony and we are horrified because of the news. This government made this decision which is not in the interest of TT. The board of Petrotrin needs to be able to account and the government needs to account as to what is going to happen,” Johnson said.

In a fiery mode, president of the Sheep and Goats Farmers’ Association Shiraz Khan accused the Prime Minister of telling lies. “I want to tell Rowley this is not Caroni, this is not BWIA, and this is not TTT. This is the leader of all unions, which all of us in TT and in the Caribbean look up to as a big brother union.”

Other JTUM members at the conference included representatives from the Fire Services Association TT (Second Division), Amalgamated Workers Union, TT Registered Nurses Association, the Maxi Taxi Association, Postal Workers' Union and TT Unified Teachers' Association.