Watson warns of social unrest when Petrotrin closes

FORMER senator Dr Patrick Watson has warned of the possibility of social unrest if Petrotrin sends home all of its 5,000 workers next Monday.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert will present the 2018/2019 budget in the House of Representatives on the same day.

Watson told the audience at a Congress of the People forum at Naparima College on Tuesday it was “total madness” for Petrotrin to dismiss all these workers on October 1.

In the House on September 17, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said the closure of Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery will see the retrenchment of 3,500 permanent workers and 1,200 temporary staff (totalling 4,700 workers).

Watson said he initially believedonly 1,700 workers would be affected by the refinery’s closure. While saying no one can disagree about the need to cleanse Petrotrin and there would be some job losses, he said the number mentioned was too high. He added that the sudden displacement of a large number of workers under the current socio-economic conditions could open the door to social unrest.

Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet has said the refinery will not close its doors on Monday and the shutdown will be a phased one.

Watson described Espinet’s comment about the bottom line being important as “offensive,” and claimed many things were not considered when the decision to close the refinery was taken. As an example, he cited the high personal cost of health care that Petrotrin retirees would now face if the Augustus Long Hospital and its associated medical centre at Guaracara Park were no longer available to them.

Watson said these people will now have to source medical care from an already overburdened public health sector. “These things don’t appear on the balance sheet,” he argued.

Saying many Petrotrin workers are uncertain about their future as October 1 approaches, Watson said he knew many of them were suffering physical, mental and psychological stress right now. He said the refinery’s closure has affected the workers’ morale negatively .

Watson also argued “the best of Petrotrin” would be snapped up by other companies in TT and overseas. He questioned whether the company’s newly restructured exploration and production division would achieve its stated objectives.

Watson also said the closure of the refinery will have a negative multiplier effect on Petrotrin’s fenceline communities. Former Petrotrin manager George De Verteuil said the refinery was not obsolete and could be made viable.

Another former manager, Harris Khan, said the refinery’s closure would be “a death blow” to training opportunities for young people in the energy sector, as upstream companies in TT do not provide such opportunities.