00:00Yara Trinidad Limited workers, represented by the Oilfield Workers Trade Union, are warning
00:05the company of impending strike action if it does not immediately address key safety
00:10concerns.
00:11On Thursday morning, OWTU President-General Ansel Roger called on the OSH Authority and
00:17the Ministry of Labour to intervene.
00:19Workers claim that there have been increased instances of accident and injury at the plant
00:24in recent times due to the increased use of contract workers over permanent staff.
00:29Reporter Cindy Raghabar-Tekasingh has more.
00:33Ammonia Plant Operator Yara Trinidad Limited, situated in the Point Lisas Estate in Kuva,
00:40is currently undergoing maintenance or turnaround work to one of its facilities.
00:45But its permanent workers, through their union, the OWTU, claim the company has been breaching
00:51a signed Memorandum of Understanding made in 2023 following strike action then.
00:57What we have is a situation whereby the management of Yara has decided to replace permanent workers
01:06with contract workers, and in most cases, incompetent contract workers.
01:11As a result, the union says, lives and limbs are put at risk daily.
01:17Just at the beginning of this week, because a crane was unsupervised, we would have had
01:22an accident at the main gate, where it would have bounced the gate.
01:27We have other issues whereby we had three lacerations of fingers.
01:32You have a lot of near misses taking place, bet your bottom dollar if that is not addressed,
01:38what will sit at the top of that is a fatality.
01:41The OWTU represents over 120 employees at the plant, and President-General Ansel Roger
01:48says they will initiate strike action if permanent workers continue to be sidelined and site
01:55safety is not sustained.
01:58You might very well find that if action is not taken to protect jobs and prove that protection
02:06of the jobs and lives and limbs of the trained workers, if that does not happen, we can at
02:12that point, we can escalate this action here at this site.
02:16It's either all of us live and live comfortably and work safely, or nobody work at all.
02:26Following Thursday morning's press briefing, the OWTU delivered a letter requesting a meeting
02:32with the President of Yara Trinidad Limited.
02:36A letter was also sent to the Minister of Labour calling for his intervention in the
02:41matter.
02:43Cindy Raghubar Tika Singh, TV6 News.
02:47In a response this afternoon, Yara Trinidad Limited issued a media statement saying it
02:52reaffirms its dedication to working with their unionised employees, recognised majority union,
02:58the OWTU.
03:00However, Yara says it was surprised by today's gathering at the front gate and noted some
03:04serious inaccuracies in the statements made.
03:07Yara says they remain steadfast in their belief in the principles of sound industrial relations
03:13and the vital importance of constructive dialogue rooted in good faith discussions.
03:18The company, which manages and operates two ammonia plants locally, says their policies
03:23and procedures adhere to strict safety protocols and ethical standards.
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