Trinidad & Tobago
Govt urged to take steel plant bid
Port-of-Spain – The Steel Workers' Union of Trinidad and Tobago last week called on the government to do the right thing and accept a (US) $27 million bid for the former ArcelorMittal steel plant. The union believes the move could see dozens of retrenched workers back in a job.
Union president Christopher Henry said the government must do whatever is necessary to bring Macarri Steel Ltd to Trinidad and Tobago, as the potential to create jobs outweighs that of its nearest competitor for the plant, Nu-Iron Ltd.
Henry wants the ArcelorMittal plant reopened; it is currently in liquidation.
Macarri Steel Ltd has bid (US) $27 million for the plant, while Nu-Iron Ltd has placed $20 million on the table. Henry said there will be a vast difference in production and job creation, and Macarri should be given the edge.
He said Macarri Steel will contribute up to (TT) $1 billion per annum to local revenue in natural gas, water and electricity, whereas this would not happen with Nu-Iron.
Henry acknowledged Macarri's bid came in April, although the bid round had closed at the end of September last year. He said the liquidator acting on behalf of ArcelorMittal has not acknowledged the bid, but at the same time continues to extend the deadline, allowing Nu-Iron to gain the advantage. The end of this month will mark the fifth extension, he said.
However, the human capital value of Macarri's bid is worth the government's time, as that company is willing to invest US$1.2 billion in three new plants, he said.
It has been two years and five months since some 2,000 employees were laid off with the closure of Mittal, in Point Lisas, and about 80 percent without jobs.
Henry said Nu-Iron will not be offering the same opportunities for the re-employment of around 644 formerly permanent workers and scores of contract workers.
He called it a “travesty”, should the government continue to allow any multi-national to “again come into this country and take advantage of its citizens”.
He said the union is willing to sit with the finance minister on the issue.
FFOS challenged the Environmental Management Authority's June 2017 decision to grant a certificate of environmental clearance to the Ministry of Works and Transport for the five-kilometre highway in the Sangre Grande area. FFOS submitted that the CEC was “unreasonable, illegal, procedurally improper, irrational, null and void and of no effect”.
In April, construction work was stopped after the Court of Appeal granted FFOS leave to appeal to the Privy Council, and an injunction pending the hearing of that appeal.
A ruling was expected at the end of July, but on that day in London, Lords Reed, Wilson, Carnwath and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Black reserved judgment to consider the submissions made by the attorneys in the matter.
Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, who represented FFOS, argued that the EMA breached its statutory duty and failed to protect the environment while it granted a CEC to the government to construct the highway along the boundary of the Aripo Savannas.
He told the board that his client was not against development of the country, but this should not be at the expense of the environment which belongs to future generations.
Peter Knox QC, who represented the EMA, said it complied with the laws and he urged the court to dismiss the case.
Senior Counsel for the MOWT, Ian Benjamin, said the highway was necessary and that the Government had already lost the dry season for the project.
Last week the Privy Council dismissed FFOS's case.
A release from the Ministry of Works and Transport stated: “This decision has now cleared the way for the Ministry of Works and Transport and its agent, the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd, to proceed with the construction of this highway in an expeditious manner, for the benefit of the citizens and, particularly, the people of Sangre Grande, Cumuto and Manzanilla.”
It added: “The ministry wishes to reiterate that construction works never occurred and was never intended to occur on the Aripo Savannas as was asserted by FFOS. On the contrary, it was always intended for the works to proceed in a manner to protect the environmentally- sensitive area of the Aripo Savannas.”
It added: “The ministry remains resolute in its commitment to preserving this national treasure and undertakes to working closely with the EMA to minimise any adverse effect on the environment during the construction of the highway and to observe all the terms and conditions of the certificate of environmental clearance.”
Griffith said Trinidad and Tobago was a young nation that was still learning, developing and adapting to internal and external challenges. However, he expressed confidence in his ability to make a positive change.
“I give the promise to you today that one year from now, by God's grace and will, by our 57th anniversary, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service will be a more efficient and effective service that would ensure the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago will be safer, with a greater and more robust measure of security than this, our 56th anniversary,” Griffith said.
He said many mistakes have been made in the past from which valuable lessons can be learned, and he commended the Police Service for its patriotism and dedication to making Trinidad and Tobago a better place.
“I wish to assure you all that we will do what is required within the law and through steadfast leadership, strategic management and accountability to always protect this country, its institutions and the fundamental rights of all citizens,” he said.
The labour leaders say they represent over 20 trade unions, and Friday this week will be a day off for their workers and other private sector workers in solidarity, PSA and National Trade Union Centre president Watson Duke said. He added the labour movement was fully united with them, and which include the Joint Trade Union Movement and Federation of Independent Trade Unions and Non-Governmental Organisations.
“We want to send a strong message to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and to all of Trinidad and Tobago. We want to say that September the 7th is on. And while some persons will be taking a day of rest, we are saying to all workers of this country, take it as a labour day of rest. You just stay home and rest yourself. Make Friday a good Friday. Go to the beach. Read a book. Take your children to the park. Do something. Visit the zoo. Go and pet some of the animals there, but do not come out to labour for a government who is labouring to destroy you,” Duke said.
Duke said for Petrotrin the labour movement presented an alternative solution to the government. “We know transformation is a hard task, even though it's a noble task, and we are saying today, as the labour fraternity, we are all for transformation. We are all for productivity, but what we will not bow down to is the destruction of bread and butter from innocent mouths. We will have none of it.”
“In closing CNMG, we’re opening the door to a brighter future,” Rowley declared. He said TTT needed to adhere to high standards because of the seriousness of the role the media plays in citizens’ lives.
In a time when one has to question everything seen and misinformation, he said TTT has the role of building a reputation as a bastion for correct information. If a question arises on something that’s “trending” and if it’s seen or heard on TTT, “... you’ll know it’s been checked”.
On TTT’s other role as a production house, Rowley said it was important for the station to not just broadcast news or provide a platform for creativity, but to facilitate the creation of local content. He said with the negativity seen in the news, it was important to produce programmes that elevate, entertain and drive people to a higher quality of life.
“Rather than be news carrier, it’s more important for this generation of TTT to be a programme producer of content for T&T and externally,” he said. He projected jobs and projects which could bring revenue from such productions would, in turn, offer a platform for talented people.
However, last week Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union president general Ancel Roget indicated a possibility that more than the projected 1,700 retrenched workers would be affected, saying all of the 3,500 permanent employees would feel the ripple.
Said Roget: “[The government is] moving swiftly ahead to implement the scenario wherein the upstream operation, to exit fully, 1,700 workers and in the downstream, which is the refinery, another 1,700 workers. While they tell you something else, their proposal, in summary, is to send home all of the workers in Petrotrin and rehire some 800 workers. Then shut down the refinery, open some ‘terminalling’ operation and hire 200.”
With the number of vacancies currently existing, which are filled by casual and temporary employment on a rotational basis, Roget said an additional 2,000 people will be affected. An estimated 3,500 employees who work on a rotation for contractors of Petrotrin will also feel the pinch, he said. With an estimated 9,000 employees expected to be affected, Roget said workers’ families must be added, resulting in a figure of 45,000.
National Petroleum Staff Association president Joseph Roberts also admitted something had to be done about the state oil company, which was badly managed over the years. However, he remained concerned about the social impact of the closure of its refinery operations, and what this would mean for the communities depending on the company.
The association represents about 200 monthly paid workers at the supervisory level at Petrotrin and the OWTU represents the majority of workers.
“We in this together,” Roberts said, as he pointed out the state Petrotrin had found itself in was not due to the workers “who people are describing as slackers, but it is because of bad management decisions, World GTL being one of them.”
Roberts admitted that changes had to be made at Petrotrin, which had been mismanaged.
“The decisions made by previous boards led us to this situation. We had several failed projects. The South West Soldado project, which was supposed to add 3,000-plus additional barrels of oil never happened. It was poorly managed,” he said.
Roberts described it as a “watershed moment” for the company and the country.
“We have been in the oil business for over 100 years, there has been significant struggle to bring us to where we are today, this is really a watershed moment,” he said.
He did not blame the Petrotrin board chaired by Wilfred Espinet for the current scenario.
Said Rogers: “This is going to be targeted to the government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Rowley-led Cabinet. Mr Espinet came to do a work that he was assigned by the Rowley-led government and he is fulfilling his mandate.”
Roberts said talk about the closure of the company had been circulating even before the announcement. “We had been hearing through cooler talk that that was going to happen. I would have thought the government would have thought this thing out really carefully,” he said.
Roberts said while Petrotrin has been described as a “ward of the state, we have contributed significantly to the building of Trinidad and Tobago”. He was also concerned about the social impact of the closure of the refinery, noting that there are many small businesses which depend on Petrotrin and its employees for their survival. He was concerned about the impact on communities like Marabella, Santa Flora, Forest Reserve and Fyzabad.
Roberts said while the intention is to transfer to a “terminal arrangement,” where fuels will be imported for local consumption, “the entire Trinidad and Tobago will feel the brunt because the cost of living will go up”. While he understood as a business Petrotrin had to be a profitable entity, there are other factors to be considered, there must be some kind of social responsibility, and the conversation must be on both sides.
On Saturday the vessel set out from Port of Spain at 6:21 am, arriving in Tobago shortly after 11 am. However, upon arrival it was discovered one of the two ramps on the vessel was not compatible with the berthing area at the Scarborough port.
“The boat came in straight on the bow. However the Scarborough jetty was not designed to receive the bow ramp, but the stern ramp,” Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago chairman Lyle Alexander said.
Alexander said the captain thought it would pose a risk to turn the vessel around as he could not get sufficient power on the bow thruster, given the wind and power required. The vessel returned to Trinidad without anyone on board being able to disembark in Tobago.
Following the failure to dock, former transport minister Devant Maharaj levelled criticism at Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, saying it was a sign of incompetence.
“The docking delays only underscores the failure of the absence of procurement process used by the Rowley Administration,” said Maharaj.
“Had the government engaged maritime professionals and adopted a proper and transparent process, foolish and elementary issues such as the berthing mechanisms would have been factored into the decision-making process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sinanan described the trial run as a complete success, saying the purpose of the trip was to test the vessel’s speed and safety, and not its docking capabilities.
Said Sinanan: “What we wanted to do… was to check the speed of the vessel to Tobago, and the safety of the vessel and my information was that it took four and half hours to get to Tobago and four hours on the trip down so it debunks the talk of seven and eight hours according to the so-called experts. Secondly it was about safety. It went up safely and came down safely.”
Sinanan also addressed why he was not aboard the vessel for its first sea trial. “There were no passengers or vehicles, just the engineers and the maritime people and one or two officers from the port and the National Infrastructure Development Company Limited because I could not even go on the vessel because this is the sea trial,” he said.
“So it was the technical people who went on this test, not passengers and the intention was not to dock and during the next sea trial we will dock stern on and everything is anticipated to be smooth,” he said.
NIDCO described the sea trial as successful, saying, “The objectives of the trial-run today were to establish the duration of the journey to Tobago, that is, speeds, overall quality of onboard experience, and to check some passenger safety features.” It added: “We also sought to determine the more suitable berthing option, since the vessel is equipped with both bow and stern ramps. Based on the trial, we have determined that docking at both ports would be via the stern ramp. All other checks were highly successful...”
NIDCO also noted the vessel achieved a maximum speed of 23 knots per hour.
Persad-Bissessar
Port-of-Spain – Trinidad and Tobago cannot be dependent on the oil and gas sector, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said last week.
She said oil and gas are not like a mango tree that would keep bearing, and therefore there is need to diversify into other lucrative areas that can grow the economy and develop sustainable jobs.
“I want to see our economy diversified and flourishing, no longer dependent on oil and gas, but strong in the areas of agriculture, maritime, and information and communication technology, to name but a few,” she told the audience.
Persad-Bissessar said her vision and that of the UNC is one where creative industries blossom and the tourism sector expands to include medical and wellness tourism and sport and cultural tourism. She said in the Caribbean everyone else has sun, sea, and sand, and therefore her government wanted to attract tourism in the fields of education, medicine and sport, among others.
It was for this reason why the UWI South Debe campus was built, along with the Couva Children's Hospital, as well as sporting facilities such as the aquatic centre and cycling velodrome.
“We do have a vision and plan, we started to roll it off, but after September 2015 everything is on hold; the country has gone into auto-pilot. My team and I are working hard to ensure that once we return to government we can again make these things happen and give them a priority for development,” she added.
Persad-Bissessar said the UNC will ensure that citizens have opportunities for well-paying and sustainable jobs. She said while Trinidad and Tobago has much to be proud of, there is much work to do if citizens are to make this vision a reality.
“It is easy to lose sight of our country's achievements given the critical challenges facing us, including a crime scourge and an economic downturn. It is important to remember, however, that there is hope. We are a resilient, determined people and I know each of us is capable of greatness. I am confident that by working together, we will eventually be firmly back on track for further development,” she added.
Persad-Bissessar said she wants to see children become inventors, designers of new software and hardware, application developers, manufacturers and leaders. The digital age involves creating a whole new economy that impacts on how we live and how we work, in all sectors and industries, in manufacturing, services in research and development, or hardware manufacturing.
“The digital transformation of our economy will bring efficiency, high productivity and prosperity as well as job and revenue creation. This is but one aspect of our plan for Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.
