Abdulah condemns Govt’s actions

MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah has again condemned the shutting down of Petrotrin saying the decision would affect the lives of thousands of workers, the southern economy and the “very social, economic and political fabric of TT.”

In a media release on Saturday, Abdulah said the ruling PNM administration “stands guilty of perpetrating this grievous act on the basis of a totally false propaganda narrative.”

“The country was told that all workers would be “well taken care of” and “generously treated.”

That is not true. The permanent workers received not one cent above what they are legally entitled to under the legally binding collective agreements; while the temporary workers have been told by Espinet that they have to ‘suffer.’

“The company has withheld monies due to the workers, on the basis of some tax issues. But these are employees who have their tax deducted at source from their wage/salary – how then can the company claim that the workers may owe the BIR?”

He said the company was “scrambling” in the days leading up to November 30 to meet outstanding amounts to the pension plan as the Plan’s Trustee Republic Bank specified that the retrenching of all workers would leave the plan in a deficit of TT$4 billion.

“The cost of retrenching all the workers – some TT$ 2.6 billion plus the liability to the pension plan of some TT$4 billion – far exceeds the infamous “Bullet Payment” of the Bond due on August 2019 of US $850 million (or TT$ 5.9 billion).”

He said Petrotrin has had to borrow more than TT$ 6 billion to pay termination benefits and the liabilities to the pension plan.

“This plus the very US$850 million bond which has been refinanced have all been Government guaranteed, thus making a nonsense of their original ‘justification.’”

He said the Prime Minister’s real objective was not to restructure Petrotrin but to weaken the trade union movement.

“There are to be no strong, progressive trade unions – thus weakening the power of labour and shifting the balance even more in favour of capital and the elites.”