Ex-Petrotrin workers to get land from government

Just as former workers of the now-defunct Caroni (1975) Ltd were honoured with land as promised as part of the VSEP package, the government also intends to honour previous agreements to allocate land to former Petrotrin workers as part of their termination benefits.

Minister in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, Ernesto Kesar, made the announcement on November 30 at the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout.

Scores of former Petrotrin workers, including retirees and other members of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU), had gathered to mark the seventh year since the closure of the Petrotrin refinery.

Kesar said 2,814 former workers had applied to the Land Settlement Agency under the previous administration for parcels of land, but only 238 were issued letters of commitment, without receiving any land.

The ex-workers set to benefit include permanent, temporary, and casual workers from the 76,000 acres of Petrotrin land.

Kesar recalled that in a meeting on November 20, he was instructed by his line minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal, to prepare a report encompassing all permanent, casual, and temporary workers and staff for the Cabinet's consideration and approval, where necessary.

"Obviously, the 238 people will be part of that because they have already been allocated," Kesar said.

"I am instructed to prepare a report, including the minutes of the meeting. It will take into consideration where the land is located, its capacity, and all of the different facilities, but I have been given the responsibility to prepare that report."

Kesar, who is also the Point Fortin MP and a former OWTU branch president, announced that the government hopes to reopen two closed medical facilities in Santa Flora and Guaracara for former workers and their families within six months.

He recalled being assigned by Moonilal to assess the clinics managed by Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL).

After inspecting the Guaracara and Santa Flora clinics, Kesar reported that the Pointe-a-Pierre facility was still structurally sound and had maintained medical records for all workers. However, he noted that the Santa Flora clinic had been severely vandalised.

On the issue of successorship, Kesar said Labour Minister Leroy Baptiste was advised to pilot a motion through Parliament to have Cabinet approve the OWTU's representation of workers under TPHL.

OWTU president general Ancel Roget also addressed the gathering and repeatedly bashed the previous administration.

He said over 1,000 retirees died "as a result of not being able to access their own medical plan."

"He (Rowley) took it away… The medical plan is part of the preservation of your life," Roget said.

Roget added that many workers suffered from occupational diseases due to not having adequate protection, recalling how workers carried pipes on their backs through forests to produce oil, exposing themselves to various chemicals under severe pressure.

He added that many risked their lives in conditions that led to renal failure, heart failure and more.

The Rowley-led administration had attributed the refinery's closure to economic challenges and declining profitability, citing high operating costs.

Roget charged that the previous administration was "running this country on fumes."

He said Moonilal and Kesar now have to deal with the serious challenges of neglected infrastructure, both on land and offshore.

The ministers are addressing what Roget described as a state of abandonment.

On the closure of the refinery in 2018, Roget said people cry every day when they pass by and see the darkness, which used to be lit by the flares.

He added that things are beginning to turn around thanks to the work of the two ministers, who have been working with the OWTU both behind and in front of the scenes.

"The worst thing you can do is remove recognition from a union and take that union away from a workplace," Roget said.

After the shutdown, Petrotrin was restructured under TPHL with four subsidiaries: Heritage Petroleum Company, Paria Fuel Trading Company, Guaracara Refinery, and Petrotrin.

Roget charged that none of these companies has OWTU representation due to the issue of successorship, and that the administration ensured this would not happen.

La Brea MP Clyde Elder, who is also Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities, also attended. He is a former secretary general of the Communications Workers' Union.