Roget: Paria's 'bungling' led to 4 divers deaths

JOINT Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president Ancel Roget has again laid blame for the deaths of four divers, three weeks ago, at the feet of the management of Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd.

“People who don’t know what to do and who, by their incompetence, create crises but are not able to manage those crises, but their bungling, would have snuffed out the lives of four human beings, four individuals,” he said on Saturday.

Roget raised the issue as he addressed hundreds of members of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs, assembled at Palmiste Park, San Fernando on Saturday.

On February 25, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar, Yusuf Henry and Fyzal Kurban died while doing maintenance work on an underwater pipeline at Paria, Pointe-a-Pierre. Investigations are being done by Paria, the Occupational Health and Safety Agency and the police. Government has appointed a three-man commission of enquiry chaired by Jamaican Queen's Counsel Cecil Dennis Morrison and local sub sea specialist Gregory Wilson. A third member with experience in oil and gas industry investigations is being sought overseas.

Several activists also said Government was responsible for the divers' deaths.

The Paria tragedy was among national issues the movement raised.

Communications Workers Union (CWU) secretary general Clyde Elder rejected a statement issued earlier in the day from TSTT that no decision had been taken to retrench workers and reiterated the union's claims about plans to send home workers.

"This Government feel they could fool all the people all the time." Elder questioned the $453 million revenue loss that TSTT said it incurred. He claimed that the company's recent financial statements showed it made $600 million in operating profits.

National Trade Union Centre general secretary Michael Annisette reiterated the labour movement's condemnation of any plan to vaccinate children under 12 against covid19, or to impose mandatory vaccination against public sector workers.

Annisette reiterated the labour movements claims about entities such as National Flour Mills and the Port of Port of Spain being "on the chopping block." He claimed this was being done to satisfy political financiers and business elites.

Public Service Association (PSA) president Leroy Baptiste said the labour movement was prepared to appeal a recent decision by the Industrial Court that TTEC workers will not get a salary increase for 2015-2017, all the way to the Privy Council. Baptiste and Contractor and General Workers Trade Union president Ermine Dibique claimed there was a move to dismantle organised labour in Trinidad and Tobago.

Debique claimed workers at Lake Asphalt and the San Fernando City Corporation have not received salary increases for some time. Steel Workers Union president Timothy Bailey alleged Armour played a role in events which led to the closure of the former Arcelot Mittal steel plant in 2018.

Roget also called upon workers and concerned citizens to be ready at a moment's notice to hit the streets and march to the Red House in Port of Spain to tell the Government and Opposition, they are fed up with the type of governance they offer to TT.

"Are you ready to go to Port of Spain?" he asked.

Roget gave no hints at to when the proposed march would take. But he declared it was time for workers and citizens to unite and say no to many things. "We have to get feet in the street. These included no to removal of any subsidy, to increases in any utility rates and no to any increase in fuel prices."

Referring to the Cabinet reshuffle on March 16, Roget said it made no sense for the Prime Minister to reshuffle what he described as a deck of bad cards. "It's still a bad pack.

The reshuffle saw several ministerial reassignments.

Among them the reassignment of Faris Al-Rawi from attorney general to rural development and local government; Kazim Hosein from rural development to agriculture (after the resignation of Clarence Rambharat from this post); Camille Robinson-Regis from planning and development to housing and urban settlement; and Pennelope Beckles from housing to planning and development. Attorney Reginald Armour, SC, was appointed Attorney General and a government senator.