00:00For the Steelworkers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, the announcement of a restart for the Point Lisa steel plant is
00:07welcome news, as it could add a desperately needed boost to the economy. But the celebration comes with a warning.
00:14The reopening of the steel plant cannot and does not mean that doors must be closed on the people that
00:30built it.
00:30The union has represented workers in the steel industry since 1980 and says history has given it detailed knowledge of
00:38the plant's operations from production to the movement of finished steel through the port.
00:44That any serious attempt to reopen the steel industry in Trinidad and Tobago must include the workers who built the
00:58steel industry for over four decades.
01:02The union's concern intensified after the reopening announcement, which it says was made without its involvement.
01:09I had a meeting with my executive and I had a meeting with my general membership and we felt that
01:16we were slighted.
01:18We felt that we were frozen out as an important stakeholder.
01:24Despite that frustration, the union says it does not want the dispute to derail the restart.
01:30Our doors are open. We are open to engagement. We are open to collaboration.
01:39We are open to cooperating once the right approach is adopted.
01:46Among the union's concerns is what happens to collective bargaining arrangements once operations resume.
01:53It wants assurances that workers will continue to have representation under the laws governing industrial relations.
02:00The first question. Will our government and our Honorable Prime Minister and her Cabinet recognize the rights of the workers
02:14to union representation and collective bargaining in accordance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago?
02:21The steel workers' union is also looking back at circumstances surrounding the plant's closure in 2016,
02:28asking if government will pass and enact amendments to the Retrenchment, Severance and Benefit Act,
02:35which would have implications on some 644 employees terminated by Ursula Mittal.
02:41There were workers with 20 and 30-year service with contractors that provided service for that 10-year-old time,
02:49and they too are forgotten, and they too would not have been paid any separation benefit.
02:56And there is another unresolved financial issue.
02:59The union says former workers remain creditors in the liquidation process involving Ursula Mittal.
03:06We are saying, seeing that the plant is purported to be in the hands of new owners,
03:12we are asking what is the status as it relates to the compensation and debts owed to the creditors.
03:22At the same time, the union wants government to engage former steel workers directly as plans for the restart take
03:29shape,
03:30as Bailey says 45% of the former workers are interested in working for the new owners once the plant
03:38reopens.
03:39Well, we have done a preparatory work.
03:40We have all the documentations as necessary as relates to our members, their skill sets,
03:45what departments they work in, the areas of their expertise and their strong points.
03:50The union is also seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissasa.
03:54The president says correspondence was sent to Hu while she was in opposition and again after she entered government.
04:02I do not know if these correspondents are reaching the Prime Minister.
04:07And if it has not been reaching the Prime Minister, I want to say,
04:10Honorable Prime Minister, since you were in opposition,
04:13I have been asking as the leader of this union for a meeting with your good self,
04:18and we would appreciate a meeting with your good self.
04:21But the union is signaling that it does not want the disagreement to become a legal battle.
04:27The union says it remains open to discussions with government and the new purchaser,
04:33but will continue pressing for clarity on workers' rights, outstanding claims,
04:38and opportunities for former steel workers as the plant moves towards reopening.
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