November 3, 2016: Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (Petrotrin) wishes to provide an update on the status of its outstanding negotiations with the OWTU and the impact of the ongoing strike by marine transport provider Inland Offshore Contractors Limited (IOCL):
Status of Outstanding Negotiations
Petrotrin and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) commenced negotiations for the 2011-2015 bargaining period in November 2013.
After a year of discussions these negotiations were referred to the Ministry of Labour.
In December 2014 after a 14 day conciliatory period the Minister of Labour determined these negotiations unresolved.
The matter is currently before the Industrial Court and Petrotrin will continue to subscribe to the procedures outlined in the Industrial Relations Act.
Ongoing IOCL Strike
Inland Offshore Contractors Limited (IOCL) is one of the three main contractors who provide marine transport to Petrotrin’s Trinmar Operations. IOCL has a separate collective agreement with the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU). The OWTU served strike notice on IOCL on October 20 after receiving an unresolved certificate from the Ministry of Labour.
The recent strike action has affected operations at Trinmar as reliable transport is critical to ensuring our effectiveness in servicing our offshore installations.
However, Petrotrin has been monitoring the situation closely and contingency measures have been implemented to limit the impact of the disruption in service.
Petrotrin wishes to encourage both parties to seek early resolution of this matter as the absence of this service continues to adversely affect our operations.
November 2, 2016
Corporate Communications Department
Petrotrin
868-658-4200