NP workers: We want answers on gas-station sale

Members of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and other NP workers banded together to demand answers on the status of their positions in the company.

NP branch president Water Jules led the charge to address workers' concerns over the sale and privatisation of NP gas stations, with priority being given to current dealers.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced the sale as part of the 2020-21 budget read on Monday.

“Workers' concern is, where do we go next? How does (the sale) affect NP workers moving forward?” said Jules. He said workers had sacrificed their lunch break to address the issue before the media, and to urge the relevant bodies to provide answers.

The protest was held at the NP Sea Lots office on Friday.

He said the union tried to have a conversation with managers, but it seemed they too were in the dark.

“Workers have had concerns from Tuesday morning up to lunchtime today,” he said. “We want to know if there would be job losses, how would the sale of the stations affect us – because we know it will affect us one way or another."

He said after the closure of Petrotrin, "We have concerns…We just want a sense of comfort.”

Jules said his union represents roughly 450-475 workers.

On Monday, NP chairman Shahid Hosein told Newsday his organisation will follow the government’s instruction to sell the stations, saying the sale depends on the availability of “reliable retailers.”

Jules said, “If privatisation works to the benefit of the people of TT, fine, but at the same time we would like to know what our role in that is. The workers are stakeholders in this, and we believe that we should be a part of the discussion, a part of the changes taking place. It is only fair.”

NP technician Quartus Johnson said workers have noticed a “disconnect” between what they are being told by the company and the government. Johnson has been with the company for 14 years.

“Over the last couple of years, there was a major drive to upgrade stations, to build new stations and to improve the infrastructure in place.

“Now we are hearing government changing their tune, that they are going to sell an asset that has spent millions of taxpayers' dollars to upgrade (including CNG) to pass it over to the private sector for them to benefit. I only see one benefiting: the private sector.”

Facility supervisor Dexter Nathaniel, with 32 years’ experience with the company, said he is concerned about workers’ pension plan.

Crystal Boland, who works as a clerk in the finance department, said NP has never asked the government for money to run its business.

“NP has no loans. We’ve never asked the government to bail us out.”

She said the cost of a station is upwards of $15 million in infrastructure alone.

“The company admitted that they asked the government to liberalise the market to assist NP, because the government has NP in a chokehold with fixed margins and fixed prices at the pump, but now that they liberalising the market, you selling the assets? No,” said Boland emphatically.