00:00You want to tell us that Petro Train was running, don't run away, you know?
00:09A light moment in what was an overall stern response by Prime Minister Kalma Pesad-Besessa to the opposition in
00:20the House of Representatives.
00:22I no longer want to know why the member on the other side told it fit to shut down Petro
00:26Train because I say the truth will come to light one day.
00:28We want to know why did you bust the union? That's what you're doing, you're busting the union.
00:34That was union busting. That's what you did then.
00:39The MPs were debating the 2026 bill to amend the vesting of Heritage, Paria and Gorakara Refinery,
00:46subsidiaries of Trinidad and Tobago Petroleum Holdings Limited, which replaced Petro Train in late 2018 during the then-PNM administration,
00:55a move that led to the closure of the state oil refinery, which was not sold or leased before the
01:012025 general election.
01:03Opposition MP Stuart Young, who served as energy minister, said the 2026 bill will have financial consequences for Heritage and
01:12Paria.
01:13It is imposing on them OWTU as the recognized majority union, but also, importantly, the collective agreements in a retroactive
01:26manner to 2018.
01:28But when the Prime Minister told the lower house she was reminded of a particular calypso, MP Young sought the
01:34intervention of the deputy speaker.
01:36Again, King Liar. He quotes himself.
01:4048. 48. 4. I just want to know if it is okay now to say King Liar, because I will
01:47have a lot to see about the member for Separia in similar language. 48. 4.
01:54Madam.
01:55In my ruling, I do not think this is in accordance with 48. 4. It is not offensive or insulting
02:02language.
02:02If you wish, you may do whatever you please with that.
02:07Honourable Prime Minister, please continue.
02:12Do so and like so.
02:14Earlier, MP Young defended what he called the difficult decision in 2018.
02:19So in 2017, you had another loss of $2.4 billion.
02:24Plus, you had the auditors saying, hey, you have to write off $5 billion.
02:30Plus, you have the looming bullet payment of $850 million U.S. dollars.
02:35And now PetroTrin was in a position, it could not even pay royalties or tax.
02:41It would have crashed the whole economy of Trinidad because they could not pay taxes.
02:45Prime Minister Pasad-Basasa referred to different data.
02:50These are the numbers coming from the annual report to investors from Trinidad Petroleum Holdings 2019
02:57and the financial reports of 2018 of Trinidad Petroleum Holdings.
03:02I'm not quoting myself.
03:03I'm quoting these reports.
03:05And in the last year of its operations, as of September 2018, PetroTrin made profits of $1.697 billion.
03:17The Prime Minister referred to the thousands of former PetroTrin workers and their families
03:22as she acknowledged the presence in the public gallery of an OWTU delegation.
03:28The OWTU never gave up.
03:30Last Labor Day we committed and so on the eve of this one,
03:33I want to say with my comrades,
03:37for whatever, for whatever, back now.
03:41On the day before Labor Day,
03:43the Vesting Amendment Bill 2026 for Heritage, Paria and Guaracara
03:48was later passed by the House of Representatives.
03:52Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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