Moonilal: Government betraying OWTU, Patriotic over refinery deal

OPPOSITION MP Dr Roodal Moonilal has accused the Rowley administration of fooling and discarding the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) in the latter’s quest to acquire the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.

The Prime Minister said on Monday unless Government’s negotiations with the OWTU’s company Patriotic Energies and Technologies are completed by the end of the month, that deal will be "dead."

Dr Rowley also said new options will have to be sought.

Hours after this announcement, the Oropouche East MP, speaking at a virtual United National Congress (UNC) meeting in San Fernando, said, “Rowley fooled Roget (OWTU’s president general Ancel Roget) and now that they don’t need him, they will dump him.

So what was all the talk during the election about putting the refinery in local hands? Sadly, as we predicted, the government has betrayed the OWTU and Patriotic Energy after two years of mamaguy over placing the refinery in local hands.”

Moonilal said between 2010 and 2015, when the PP administration was in office, the former Petrotrin paid the government $20 billion in royalties and taxes. He said Petrotrin was making a profit, particularly in exploration, production and refining and marketing, when government closed it down in 2018.

“Thousands of jobs were lost on the basis of a bad decision. There was no need to close the refinery. In 2015 and 2016 it was performing well. It was PNM mismanagement that led it into decline after they forced out the leadership of the company.”

He said it would take US$800 million to restart the refinery, including crude oil purchases, and wondered where that kind of capital would come from.

Moonilal also asked if the Patriotic bid fails, how long it would take to re-tender and get a new player involved.

“The refinery is now down for almost two years. If you have a car and you don’t start it for two years, what happens to it?”

He said in the next few weeks the Sagicor medical plan offered to ex-Petrotrin workers will expire and these workers will have to see about their own medical expenses.

In his address, Moonilal predicted bad news for workers in the state sector in the October 5 budget.

“Such an attack on worker’s rights and benefits has been nakedly communicated by both Prime Minister Rowley and Finance Minister Colm Imbert at the annual Spotlight on the Budget, at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Monday.

He said Rowley was at pains to denounce the gains made by labour during the period 2010-2015, when state employees received increased wages as a result of over 130 successful collective agreements signed during the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration.

“There will be greater suffering for the working poor and greater joblessness in the labour market,” the MP said, adding that Rowley did not spell out at way forward for critical sectors such as services, construction and energy.

Moonilal suggested that from Rowley’s speech it appeared T&TEC, WASA and the Port Authority could be on the chopping block, in addition to increases in water rates and electricity charges.

It was the first public stage Moonilal had shared with his leader Persad-Bissessar since the pre-election campaign, when former Tabaquite MP Dr Suruj Rambachan who also spoke on Monday, endorsed Moonilal for leadership of the party.