PM considering Lake Asphalt report – Mc Clashie

Minister of Labour Stephen McClashie. - Photo by Sureash Cholai
Minister of Labour Stephen McClashie. - Photo by Sureash Cholai

MINISTER of Labour and MP for La Brea Stephen Mc Clashie has told workers at Lake Asphalt that government does not intend to shut down the asphalt company in his constituency.

The company is considered the lifeline of the La Brea community.

He said the Prime Minister appointed an inter-ministerial committee to assess the company and make recommendations with a view to finding solutions.

“The idea behind the report is not to shut down, but to find solutions,” said Mc Clashie, a former member of the board.

“The committee was asked to do a report, which has been finalised. We have submitted the report to the Prime Minister, who is now considering it before it goes to the Cabinet.”

He said this was communicated to the Contractors and General Workers Trade Union (CGWTU) when the committee met with it.

“We told them this is not an exercise to shut down but to really look at the operations and see how best we can actually help.”

Energy Minister Franklin Khan also said the plan is to revitalise the company, which has been in a slump for some time.

The committee was set up last year after the union protested, expressing fears that the company would be shuttered like Petrotrin or privatised.

President general of the CGWTU Joseph Phillip said the company suffered a huge loss when it lost the guaranteed market to supply bitumen to Petrotrin when that company was shut down and other customers opted to source bitumen independently.

Phillip said the company made some bad decisions, lost international markets, and failed to diversify its products.

At the time of the protest, CEO Roger Wiggins denied plans to close or send home workers. He said the board and management were committed to the sustainability of the organisation and was reviewing its strategic plans.

Chairman Christopher John-Williams said the industry was changing and the company had to transform to meet the challenges. In keeping with this thinking, he said the board had taken several initiatives, which incuded the expansion of the Lasco paint plant from a pilot plant to a full-scale production plant.

Plans also included commercialising the UWI-licensed products (UWI Primer and UWI Plastic cement) and patenting and producing Cold Milled TLA, as well as plans to make the asphalt more user-friendly, energy-efficient, carbon neutral and less costly.

Mc Clashie said once the recommendations are accepted the move would be in the best interest of all the stakeholders.

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