‘Don’t take termination letters’

PRESIDENT GENERAL of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget slammed government as he ended his “mother of all marches” at the Brian Lara Promenade in downtown Port of Spain yesterday afternoon.

Speaking to a packed promenade, Roget accused the government of contempt as he claimed Petrotrin staff had already begun to receive severance packages and termination letters even as the union and the company await the Industrial Court’s judgment on an injunction on Monday afternoon. Roget called on workers to reject any offer by the government and urged them to “run” any representatives who may seek to visit them or give them packages before the court rules. He also claimed that government planned to use TT Post to deliver termination letters over the weekend, but said he has spoken with the secretary general of the Postal Workers Union, and could assure this would not happen.

“Overnight the chairman of the board, directed by the Minister of Finance, continued to commit an act of contempt by issuing letters today, in spite of the fact that this matter is before the court and judgment is reserved. So they don’t care about the law. In their quest to satisfy their friends, they don’t care if they break the law. “It cannot be, as we wait on that judgment – if anyone comes to deliver anything for you over the weekend, run that person! This is not a time to be receiving any mail over the weekend. Run that person! We are hearing that they (the government) are preparing over the weekend to post termination letters through TT Post. “Well, I have spoken to the secretary general of the Postal Workers Union and he has been speaking with the workers and they have already resolved that no overtime or no weekend work will ever be close to the value of the Petrotrin workers.” On Minister of Energy Franklin Khan’s saying during yesterday’s sitting of the Lower House that Petrotrin was to be broken up into a holding company and four subsidiary companies, Roget told Newsday he was not aware of the remarks but they could be dismissed as further attempts at contempt.

Roget, along with other labour leaders, including Watson Duke of the Public Services Association, Nirvan Maharaj of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union, and David Abdulah of the Movement for Social Justice, delivered speeches to members gathered on Lower Chacon Street.

With them was leader of the Congress of the People Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, who said she stood in support of the unions and called for greater clarity behind the decision to close Petrotrin. Roget began his journey on Wednesday at Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, from which he led almost 3,000 union members to Port of Spain, after resting in Couva and Aranguez en route. As he and the union approached the end of their march, they were accompanied by a number of San Juan and Morvant residents who were sympathetic to their cause.