Bleak Xmas for ex Petrotrin workers

DEFUNCT oil company Petrotrin has promised to pay its former temporary and casual workers all outstanding back pay money on or before January 15, 2019.

OWTU (Petrotrin branch) president Christopher Jackman, who led workers in a protest demonstration on December 17, said over 1,000 temporary/ casual workers have not received their severance or back pay after the company’s closure on November 30.

In a telephone interview today, Jackman said the company issued a memo after that protest, telling the former workers that payments would be made by the middle of January.

“So we holding them to their word there. People went through Christmas without pay, but at least we have a date as to when payment would be made.”

Jackman said the Christmas season was “very bad” for some of the former workers as several did not even have money to pay rent or buy food for their families.

“It was very bad. What we did as a union, we pooled together resources among ourselves and gave small donations to as much temporary, casual workers as we could just to see them through.

“We tried our best to help them. We couldn’t help everybody but we had to identify the dire cases.”

Jackman also said the company’s board had given the union’s executive three weeks to provide the relevant documents regarding the union’s proposal to take over the refinery, port and hospital.

“The response from the board and PM is that they would not be going on any request for proposals until they give us three weeks to close off our submissions. The executive of the union is doing a lot of work to get that process closed off.

“Whether they are being genuine or not, in terms of offering the union first preference, time will tell.”

Jackman also noted that fishermen were also requesting the union’s assistance regarding the non-importation of regular gasoline as the switch to super gasoline was not economically feasible.