Industrial Court to rule on Monday

ALMOST ten hours of submissions and arguments from attorneys Douglas Mendes, SC, and Reginald Armour, SC, ended with the adjournment of the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union’s (OWTU) injunction hearing to Monday afternoon.

Industrial Court president Deborah Thomas-Felix announced yesterday evening that she and her panel of judges will be better prepared to deliver a ruling at that time.

Beginning shortly after 9 am yesterday, members of the OWTU, represented by Mendes, and representatives of Petrotrin, represented by Armour, began the second day of the hearing as Mendes accused Petrotrin of “mamaguying” the union by notifying them of the refinery’s closure after the decision was already made. He said the move was deliberate and against proper industrial relations best practice.

“Even if Petrotrin is considering shutting down, the matter dictates that they (Petrotrin) meet with the OWTU. When you are at a formative stage of decision-making you must give the union adequate information before making that decision, not after because then you will be mamaguying me.

“Is there no obligation to simply have a discussion before such a decision is made? Despite doing what the union has to do on behalf of the workers, the employer maintains that we are shutting down even while considering the union’s proposals of leasing the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.”

Mendes also questioned the legitimacy of the Attorney General intervening in the matter, to which state attorney Seenath Jairam, SC, responded by saying that the matter was of public interest and said the State was concerned over the consequences such an injunction could have on the public.

For his part, Armour said that while Petrotrin was not liable to discuss the decision of its closure with the OWTU before hand, he said the company still maintained discussions with the union until August 28 to hear suggestions on restructuring the company.

Referring to affidavits from permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Vishnu Dhanpaul, and Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet, Armour said while the company continued to engage the union in negotiations over the future of the refinery, the union failed to put forward sustainable business models and did not address concerns relating to debt repayment, financing and profitability.

“The reality is the substance of the agreement of holding discussions with the OWTU were no longer there, the circumstances surrounding the agreement had changed since it was made. We have evidence that the company was engaging consistently with the union on talks of how to make Petrotrin more competitive.”

However, Mendes contended that Petrotrin continued to go ahead with its closing operations even while entertaining negotiations with the OWTU.

After a brief deliberation, Thomas-Felix adjourned the matter to 3pm on Monday when she is expected to deliver a ruling on the injunction. She also announced that the hearing of the industrial relations offence will begin next Thursday and assured parties that it will take about three days to be completed.