GROUP OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS & NGOS

NATIONAL PETITION CAMPAIGN

2001

We the below signed citizens of Trinidad and Tobago being:

q Opposed to corruption

q Aware that major issues still surround the integrity of the Electoral Lists

q Concerned about the influence that political investors have in political parties and therefore on government

q Disturbed about the lack of sufficient transparency and accountability in the affairs of the State, including the manner of implementing major government projects and the divesting state owned assets

q Concerned that our society is not being developed on the basis of the fundamental tenets of our Constitution, which can be summed by the popular slogan of "peace, bread and justice for all"

q Conscious that the very many "crises" of a political, legal or constitutional nature which have occurred over the last few years is symptomatic of a wider crisis of our very system of governance as expressed in our constitution.

Do hereby:

(a) Demand that whosoever forms the government after the upcoming General Elections shall immediately establish Commissions of Enquiry to investigate allegations of corruption with a view to implementing mechanisms that would ensure transparency and accountability in the government and state enterprises and to establish the evidence for the subsequent prosecution of any persons found to be involved in corruption

(b) Demand that the incumbent government provide the EBC with all the necessary resources to ensure the integrity of the Electoral Lists and further charge the Elections and Boundaries Commission with the responsibility to prepare a List that has integrity and to the satisfaction of all political parties and civil society.

(c) Demand that the incoming government urgently pass legislation to regulate campaign financing and ensure transparency with respect to donations to political parties.

(d) Demand that the incoming Government immediately reconstruct all Boards of state enterprises and statutory bodies and state agencies in a manner that removes political party influence and Ministerial interference, and to ensure accountability of these bodies to Parliament. Such an objective can be achieved, for example, by the appointment of Board members who are the nominees of established, bona fide civil society organizations.

(e) Demand that the UNC government immediately implement a moratorium on the sale or lease of any state enterprise, statutory body or state agency or part thereof.

(f) Demand that the incoming government engage in a genuinely participatory process of review of all major government policies.

(g) Demand that all political parties agree on the need for a process of constitutional reform that is based, not on the establishment of a Constitutional Commission, but on the facilitating of the shaping of a constitution by the people through their civil society organizations.

Petition sheets can be obtained from our Office at Circular Road, San Fernando

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INTEGRITY PLATFORM MEETS AGAIN

The Integrity Platform of the Group of Independent Trade Union’s and NGO’s will begin on Wednesday October 31, 2001 with a Meeting at the Point Fortin Civic Centre, starting 7:00 p.m.

On Thursday November 1, the Integrity Platform will be at Majuba Junction, La Brea also at 7:00 p.m.

The Integrity Platform is the Public Education activity of the Group of Independent Trade Unions and NGO’s. This Platform was first initiated by the Independent Unions in the lead up to the December 2000 General Elections. It was on this Platform that the issues of Corruption in the Health Sector, at Petrotrin, Trinmar, The National Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago and in the big land deals (Toco, Las Cuevas, Sea Lots and Invaders Bay) were publicly highlighted.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE INTEGRITY PLATFORM INCLUDE:

  • To inform and educate the public on key local and national issues (corruption, sellout of the country’s patrimony, health, safety and the environment, crisis facing youth, other policies that adversely affect citizens);

  • To educate on and discuss the need for major reform of the economic so that we can have a society built on the principle of Peace, Bread and Justice for all;

  • To educate on and discuss the issue of the need for constitutional reform;

  • To hear the concerns and issues of the local community and identify common actions to address these concerns;

Speakers on the Platform will be from the leadership of the Group of Independent Trade Unions and NGO’s.

David Abdulah

Chief Education & Research Officer

_________________________________________________________________________

Schedule of Meetings

Date

Venue

Wednesday October 31st

Point Fortin Civic Centre

Thursday November 1st

Majuba Junction, La Brea

Wednesday November 7th

OWTU Fyzabad Building

Thursday November 8th

Plaisance Regional Complex, Pointe-a-Pierre

Wednesday November 21st (6:00 pm - Live Broadcast) Barrackpore Community Centre
Thursday November 22nd (6:00 pm - Live Broadcast) Mayaro Civic Centre
Wednesday November 28th  Arima Borough Hall
Thursday November 29th Couva-Lisas Gardens Community Centre

Meetings Scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  

We ask that your representatives prepare short addresses that will focus on some aspect of our objectives. In this way we can have a tight, well organized Panel of Speakers at each meeting, and allow, as well, for audience participation

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OWTU's DAVID ABDULAH ON 9 - 11 Terrorist Attacks

Tuesday September 11th, will go down in history as another one of those days when everyone will remember where they were when they first heard the news about the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Thanks to the technology of our age, we all saw or heard (those of us who listened to radio could hear all that was happening thanks to the link with TV feeds) the vents as they happened. It was real time news reporting and this made its impact all the more intense.

The loss of human life is always a cause for regret and sympathy. This is more the case when many people die suddenly and unexpectedly – in accidents or in natural disasters. And when innocent people die as a result of an act of aggression it is doubly worse since their sudden demise was not by way of a natural disaster - “an act of God” – or by an accident over which they probably had little or no control. Deaths of innocent people, civilians by acts of aggression are the direct result of a conscious and calculated decision by some person or persons.

I therefore, like most all over the world extend my own sympathy to the families and friends of those who lost their lives. And the action of the hijackers who flew the planes into buildings and especially a civilian target like the WTC cannot be condoned in any way.

But as the dust settles in Washington and Lower Manhattan, we need to do a serious examination about the why’s and wherefores of this of this terrible loss of human life. The US media has been reporting on virtually nothing else since Tuesday at 9.00 am. We have therefore had the scenes of the attacks and the drama replayed a thousand times since then. At first the images seemed even more dramatic and riveting than a Harrison Ford blockbuster (remember Airforce One?), but the way in which the US media is providing information and analysis is now very clearly a strategy, consciously developed or otherwise, for shaping the entire world’s understanding of the vents, of politics and of values.

Certainly we must not allow ourselves to fall into this trap. We must not willingly be converted by the Gospel according to CNN. To do so would be to uncritically accept that the US is all good and other people and countries and cultures and religions are all bad and evil. Indeed, we must reject the hypocrisy of the US government and the way in which history is being written according to the State Department.

All human life is of value, whether they are Americans working in the WTC or poor people living in Panama. Equally important are the lives of the millions of poor people who are dying the world over as a result of economic policies and arrangements that are to the benefit of US multinationals. How many of us remember the US military strike on Panama by President George Bush Snr.? That attack had as its objective the seizing of one man – Manuel Noreiga! Noregia was no saint, but he was a creature of the US. It was reported that he was in fact on the CIA payroll, and there is a strong view that he was somehow involved in the untimely death of the nationalist Panamanian leader General Torres.

But the US got vex by the fact that Noreiga turned on them, as did Saddam Hosein of Iraq who was their ally in the battle against Iran!, and so they had to get Manuel, just as they’ve wanted to get Saddam. The problem is that in the process a lot of innocent people have been killed. Now in the case of Iraq, there is no doubt that by Saddam invading Kuwait, the US needed no pretext to go to war, since war had already been declared by Iraq.

The attempt to punish Iraq by sanctions and the bombings of supposed military targets, for which little evidence is offered, is, however, quite another matter. Many innocent people have died as a result, children are malnourished and have been condemned to live lives that have been terribly devalued as a direct result of the conscious policy of the US. Yet there is no public outcry, no effort by the US media to portray these Iraqi citizens as the innocent victims of aggression or as people who have family and friends. They are merely collateral damage!

In the case of Panama there was no such excuse. The US Court wanted to try Noreiga, he refused to surrender himself and the US military went after him. In the process they bombed and burned many communities where poor Panamanians lived. On a visit to Panama a year after I myself saw large areas of wasteland where homes once stood and where people lived. Some estimate that as many as 20,000 innocent civilians died – four times that of last Tuesday - in that military action. But did the US media tell their story? Did the world stand in silence and grief for these poor people? Of course not.

They weren’t worth it, they were only “collateral damage”. So too the people who were in the mental institution in St. George’s in 1983 when the US bombed that hospital. No tears for them. And what of the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima? No military installations were targeted yet today we are constantly reminded of Pearl Harbour by the US media, even though Pearl Harbour was a naval base.

And what of the Palestinians? Are they not people too? Do they not also have the right to live in a land that they can call their home? And when Israel violates other countries territorial rights as they have done by illegally occupying the Golan Heights, why are they not compared with Saddam when he occupied Kuwait? And why has no action been taken - such as sanctions - by the international community, led by the US, against Israel when the Israeli government actively encourages Jewish settlers to build homes in the areas that have by treaty are to be handed over to the Palestinians?

The US position on sanctions has been motivated purely out of self-interest and has absolutely nothing to do with the defence of democracy or the adopting of a moral position. They were the last to get on board when countries were pressing for sanctions against apartheid South Africa, and turned a blind eye to the routine violations of those sanctions by US multinationals. After all, a country that institutionlised its own apartheid in the south until the mid 1960’s could not be expected to see Black South Africans as people, they were simply expendable, cheap labour that could be exploited for the maximisation of profit. And to impose sanctions would be to help the communists!

On the other hand, Cuba must be blockaded because it’s communist. Ironically, this fetish with communism saw the US supporting the Taliban against the then USSR when the latter country went into Afghanistan to seek its own national security interest. The US policy was - the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well today that friend has now become the enemy, but nobody is telling the American people who died that many of these so-called terrorists were once financed and supported by their own government!

This way of seeing the world, only in terms of US self-interest is myopic and racist. It is clear that the US hasn’t changed its position as was evident by their walk-out of the UN conference on racism and xenophobia. Unfortunately the US government also does not seem to have learned from the experience of Tuesday’s attack. The actions were clearly targeted at the heart of what symbolizes American economic and military power and arrogance. In this regard the attacks were successful. Whether or not they succeed in forcing a change in US policy is another question. One thing is certain, however, and that is that the US has no moral right to tell me what is right and what is wrong!

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JOINT COSSABO

Saturday October 13th, 2001

Paramount Building

2:00 p.m.

Agenda will be:

  • The way forward in the present political/constitutional situation. (Proposed panelists - Dennis Solomon, Allan Alexander, Dennis Pantin)

  • Further plan of action by the Independent Trade Unions & NGO's

  • Further plan of action by the Constitution Reform Committee

We look forward to your organisation mobilising to attend SATURDAY'S COSSABO.

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE PARLIAMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

FROM THE INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS AND NGOS 

ON THE PRESENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE REPUBLIC 

We, the Independent Trade Unions and NGOs, believe it to be our duty to intervene in what can be viewed as both a political and constitutional crisis in our country and the possibility for a tremendous advance in democratic governance in our Republic. Which of these outcomes becomes reality depends as much on the actions of those who hold official positions in the Executive and Parliament as on the role and actions of civil society. We all therefore must be responsible for the future of the Republic. 

It is in furtherance of this responsibility that the Independent Trade Unions and NGOs have discussed the current events and have decided to make this initial intervention. It is to be noted that we have consistently intervened over the past year at moments when we believed that the governance of our country required the strong and independent voice of civil society. 

We cite, for example, our initiating the “Integrity Platform” in the lead up to the General Elections of December 2000 and through which we publicly identified the issue of alleged corruption by the UNC government as of crucial importance to all citizens. At the same time, we published a citizens’ agenda – the “People’s Manifesto” which spelt out the policy issues that were, in our view, necessary for all the contenders for government office to address. 

During the course of this year we issued several statements, including two on the then impasse between the President and the Prime Minister over the appointment of seven losing candidates as Senators and Ministers. We then made a call for constitutional reform, which call has been given life through the ongoing work of the Constitution Reform Committee. Indeed, we are of the belief that the root cause of the very many “crises” that have occurred over the past months is to be found in the failure of the post independence state, and that this requires the fundamental transformation of the state. In this way, there should be new relations of power between the various arms of the state and most importantly so as to ensure that the people - where they work, in their interest groups and where they live – have real power. 

More recently, our process of “educating, agitating and organizing in the spirit of 1937” saw two very powerful mass actions, namely, the Labour Day celebrations in Fyzabad and the historic “Independence March” on August 29th from Mt. Hope to Port of Spain. Through these actions very many citizens were able to express their serious dissatisfaction with the state of governance in the country in general and, in particular, their disgust and opposition to corruption. 

This process of educating, organizing and building the unity of working people and citizens generally, across lines of race, religion, gender, geography and party affiliation is absolutely necessary to ensure that those who seek to divide our society along these fault lines do not succeed. In the present situation we have noted, with some considerable concern, that some leaders are seeking to play on the emotions of supporters and to use race, religion, party affiliation and other emotive appeals in order to strengthen their political position. 

We warn that such actions will only lead to the fracturing of our national community. If that were to happen, then we will all live to regret it. The Pandora’s Box of ethnic division to the point of intolerance and even violence must never be opened! 

We also caution that the present uncertainties and insecurity occasioned by conflict within the ruling party and government and new alignments of political forces must not be the pretext for the unleashing of violence and terror – either by the state or by private individuals or organisations. The spectre of violence must not be allowed to emerge on the political landscape. 

We have decided to make our position and proposals on the way forward known to all Members of the House of Representatives for them to be aware that the interests of the nation must come before the interest of holding on to or gaining office. 

We hope that those who are now in government would equally recognize that circumstances can lead to the loss of a mandate, and that holding onto office by any means will result in a very high cost to the country. We equally hope that those who are seeking to form a government will recognize that they have no mandate other than to deal with corruption and that therefore they need to seek a mandate through interaction with the people. We also offer our proposals to the President so as to afford His Excellency the benefit of the views of a very important section of civil society. 

In the final analysis, however, the citizens of the country must also take responsibility for the future of the Republic and therefore we will firstly make our statement known to very many civil society organizations and to the public generally. We shall then engage in a process of information, discussion, education and organization of civil society around the following proposals on the way forward for our Republic. 

WE PROPOSE, IN THE INTEREST OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE NATION, THAT:

 1.There be a Caretaker Government that would be comprised of all those members of the House of Representatives who:

(a)   are opposed to corruption

(b)  agree that this Caretaker Government should be limited in its work to the implementation of the programme as specified below, together with those functions of day to day administration for the health care, education, national security and other essential needs of the citizens and country

(c)  demonstrate that they are committed to place the interest of the nation before that of party or personal self interest. 

2. That this Caretaker Government holds office for a period of not more than two years within which the following programme would be collectively implemented:

(a)   The establishment of Commissions of Enquiry to investigate allegations of corruption with a view to implementing mechanisms that would ensure transparency and accountability in the government and state enterprises and to establish the evidence for the subsequent prosecution of any persons found to be involved in corruption 

(b)  The provision of all the necessary resources to ensure the integrity of the Electoral Lists and the charging of the Elections and Boundaries Commission with the responsibility to prepare a List that has integrity and to the satisfaction of all political parties and civil society. 

(c)    The passage of legislation to regulate campaign financing and ensure transparency with respect to donations to political parties. 

(d)  The reconstruction of all Boards of state enterprises and statutory bodies and state agencies in a manner that removes political party influence and Ministerial interference, and to ensure accountability of these bodies to Parliament. Such an objective can be achieved, for example, by the appointment of Board members who are the nominees of established, bona fide civil society organizations. 

(d)  In addition, all state enterprises, government departments and statutory bodies should be subject to spot audits by independent forensic auditors.  

(e)   A moratorium on the sale or lease of any state enterprise, statutory body or state agency or part thereof. 

(f)    A genuinely participatory process of review of all major government policies. 

(g)   Agreement on the need for a process of constitutional reform that is based, not on the establishment of a Constitutional Commission, but on the facilitating of the shaping of a constitution by the people through their civil society organizations.  

3. On the basis of the above, for there to be new General Elections within two years or as soon as agenda items 2 (a), (b), and (c) are implemented, whichever is earlier. And, further, that the Local Government Elections scheduled for 2002 to be held only if there is in place the Electoral List that is to the satisfaction of the political parties and civil society as in 2 (b) above. 

We believe that at this moment in our country’s history our elected representatives must put country before party and self, and act with good sense and maturity. We urge civil society to also act responsibly and to seek to ensure that coming out of the present crisis there emerges better governance, namely a more participatory democracy and accountability and transparency in all public affairs. 

For and on Behalf of the Independent Trade Unions and NGOs, 

Errol K. McLeod                                   Raffique Shah

President General                                Chairman

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union           Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers Assoc.

 2001 October 8.

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 2001 October 10.

MEDIA RELEASE 

INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS AND NGO’S ISSUE 

STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE NATION 

The Independent Trade Unions and NGO’s have been discussing the present state of the nation and have identified a set of proposals on the way forward for the Republic. These proposals are contained in “An Open Letter to the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and to all Members of the House of Representatives”, dated October 8th. 

The “Open Letter” has been delivered to His Excellency and to the Members of Parliament. We have attached the Open Letter and request that your Media House publicise its contents.  

We believe that it is vital for the views of civil society to be known, if there is to be a resolution of the present “crisis” in the interests of the ordinary citizens. Our “Open Letter” is one major contribution to that process, and we look forward to your co-operation in having our position widely reported. 

David Abdulah

Chief Education and Research Officer,

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union

For, inter alia, the below listed Independent Trade Unions and NGO’s

q       Association of Technical and Supervisory Staff (Caroni)

q       Communication Workers’ Union

q       Fire Services Association (2nd. Division)

q       Fishermen & Friends of the Sea

q       Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union

q       Prison Officers Association

q       Public Services Association

q       Sugar Industry Staff Association

q       Steel Workers’ Union of T&T

q       Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers Association

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PROPOSALS BY INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS AND NGOS IN THE INTEREST OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE NATION

1.There be a Caretaker Government that would be comprised of all those members of the House of Representatives who:

(a) are opposed to corruption

(b) agree that this Caretaker Government should be limited in its work to the implementation of the programme as specified below, together with those functions of day to day administration for the health care, education, national security and other essential needs of the citizens and country

(c) demonstrate that they are committed to place the interest of the nation before that of party or personal self interest.

2. That this Caretaker Government holds office for a period of not more than two years within which the following programme would be collectively implemented:

(a) The establishment of Commissions of Enquiry to investigate allegations of corruption with a view to implementing mechanisms that would ensure transparency and accountability in the government and state enterprises and to establish the evidence for the subsequent prosecution of any persons found to be involved in corruption

(b) The provision of all the necessary resources to ensure the integrity of the Electoral Lists and the charging of the Elections and Boundaries Commission with the responsibility to prepare a List that has integrity and to the satisfaction of all political parties and civil society.

(c) The passage of legislation to regulate campaign financing and ensure transparency with respect to donations to political parties.

(d) The reconstruction of all Boards of state enterprises and statutory bodies and state agencies in a manner that removes political party influence and Ministerial interference, and to ensure accountability of these bodies to Parliament. Such an objective can be achieved, for example, by the appointment of Board members who are the nominees of established, bona fide civil society organizations. In addition, all state enterprises, government departments and statutory bodies should be subject to spot audits by independent forensic auditors.

(e) A moratorium on the sale or lease of any state enterprise, statutory body or state agency or part thereof.

(f) A genuinely participatory process of review of all major government policies.

(g) Agreement on the need for a process of constitutional reform that is based, not on the establishment of a Constitutional Commission, but on the facilitating of the shaping of a constitution by the people through their civil society organizations.

3. On the basis of the above, for there to be new General Elections within two years or as soon as agenda items 2 (a), (b), and (c) are implemented, whichever is earlier. And, further, that the Local Government Elections scheduled for 2002 to be held only if there is in place the Electoral List that is to the satisfaction of the political parties and civil society as in 2 (b) above. 2001 October 8.

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12 Concerns of ALNG Workers
  • Fringe is not paid if workers take a day off.
  • Safety bonus is not paid if two days off are taken in any one-month.
  • Damus Fitters are paid as labourers.
  • Compensation for working on live plant.
  • Safety bonus should be paid seperately from pay.
  • Fringe is not being paid on all hours worked
  • If a worker wants to leave one contractor to work with another, he has to wait one month and is not paid any fringe. Bechtel engineered this.
  • Safety bonus is significantly less now than what it was on Train I.
  • Similar trades are paid differently, same to be standardized.
  • Women who work with Sure Security were fired and not paid fringe.
  • Anomaly with the amount of Fringe paid by Damus vs Bechtel - $1.50 as opposed to $3.50
  • On the Train I a wage that was $1900.00 is now $700.00 on Train II

*Eighteen (18) Workplace Accidents in three (3) months (Jan. 05 to Mar. 06, 2001) at Atlantic LNG - some of which could have been fatal!

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ALNG Workers not satisfied

The OWTU first extends condolences to the families and friends of Comrade Emmanuel Fraser and Kevin Joseph who tragically lost their lives in an accident at the ALNG site.

The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union congratulates the militant workers employed at the ALNG Trains 2 & 3 construction site, for their courageous action. You demonstrated UNITY and SOLIDARITY and sent a loud and clear message to ALNG, Bechtel, and all the sub-contractors at the site. The message is that:

PEOPLE MUST COME BEFORE PROFITS!.

If we were to take the traditional approach and attempt to lay blame we would have quite a task ahead of us.

Imagine taking Atlantic LNG to task for negligence and bad safety practices only to be told that they contracted Bechtel who in turn would say that they sub-contracted Chicago Bridge & Iron. Who is Chicago Bridge & Iron, and what do they have to do with the death of our comrades, you might ask? Then you would be told that it does not matter who they are because they actually sub-contracted Carillion, who in turn hired yet other contractors such as Damus and others. Where does it stop?

This vicious cycle will persist until and unless the Government implements a regulatory framework that mandates employers to implement and police safety practices-regardless as to who is sub-contracted. We will not continue to pay with our blood! To date this year we have had seven (7) deaths on the job! They all occurred at Corporate giants that boast of safety routines, safety training and safety records. Companies such as Petrotrin, Caroni, Atlantic LNG and T&TEC who want fame but not blame. They want to boast for free.

The OWTU’s position following the tragic accident was clear. We developed four strategic mandates:

A proper investigation

Responsibility for the Accident

Compensation for the Families

Decent Terms & Conditions of work

ALNG brought in an exclusive foreign investigating team so as to remove liability from themselves. The OWTU however was still able to bring the facts to light. While ALNG is laying the blame squarely in the lap of the workers, saying that they were negligent and did not wear their safety harness, our investigations revealed that there was in fact no safety supervisor present on the night of the accident.

Further inquiries show that there is a rush to build this tank faster than a similar tank built in India. For every ‘ring’ of the tank that is built, the workers get a 20-hour wage package. The contractors have actually couched wages, hired workers at very reduced rates, and are misleading them into thinking that these additional wage packages are safety bonuses for incident free, speedy work. Perhaps this is the kind of thing they are referring to when they write on their website

“....From concept to initial production, the Atlantic LNG Train I project took just six and a half years compared to the worldwide average development time of fourteen years for similar projects. The credit for this goes in part to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and its management of the country's gas reserves. The strategic integration of the various project partners as well as their commercial planning strategies have also contributed to Atlantic's achievement of the lowest ever plant capital cost in recent times….”

In terms of compensation for the families, there has been nothing that can compare to the standards that apply in the home countries of these Companies. At least one of the families has decided to take the ALNG to court. The families have been told that they would receive Workmens Compensation. Given the structural adjustment realities of this third world country, how realistic or adequate is Workmens Compensation? These men were the sole breadwinners in their families! What about the humanitarian approach that normally would have been afforded to the victims families in other countries? Is there no consideration for their children’s future and perhaps employment opportunities?

The truth is ALNG is afraid of setting a precedent for future cases, perhaps because they expect that there will be future accidents.

These energy companies are being allowed to exploit our labour, do untold damage to our coastlines and forestry, make token contributions to the communities in which they operate and go home with fat salaries at the end of the month. Just look at the totally transparent effort at appeasing the Point Fortin community after the accident. They put out an advertisement for Training Point Fortin residents in Iron Fabricating and Tile Laying. This can hardly be considered long term sustainable development. Most welders leave the job after two years anyway. Their Public Relations campaign only breeds disgust. They give a $10,000 donation to the basket ball team, uniforms to the net ballers and thereby purchase permission to continue their work.

What about the Environmental Impact Assessment? Who did it, who saw it, what did it say? Is this not enough! Is the government not convinced that the energy sector simply cannot continue without the Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Bill? The time for OSHA has gone and we are now dying without it!

There are nickel welders who are coughing blood and our Environment Minister is a Dentist!!

The following is an excerpt from the Atlantic LNG Website taken on Friday Oct. 05, 2001:“...During operation, the plant has maintained the excellent safety standards of only 3 lost time accidents (LTAs), no fatalities and an OSHA rate of 1.2 in over 13.4 million job hours set during construction. The operating company has recorded its first million job hours without a fatality, 1 LTA and an OSHA recordable rate of 0.23 as at August, 2000. During November, 2000 the plant celebrated this safety achievement as well as the delivery of its 100th cargo….”

You be the judge! There is no mention of the lives that were lost. Clearly they have isolated themselves from the accident. Safety for their purposes is measured only in ratios relative to lost time and other figures, not in the number of lives lost!

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The BP Struggle far from over

Too much advantage on Offshore Workers, enough is enough !! This has been the echo among all BP workers employed on Offshore Drilling Rigs since 1993.

The working arrangement of seven days on, seven days off to fourteen days on, fourteen days off, was changed unilaterally by the sub-contractors on instruction from AMOCO and workers were advised that the change would be temporary.

The Union resisted the change but Lennox Petroleum Services understanding workers need for employment intimidated their workers. The action on the part of the Company was not in keeping with the established principles of god industrial relations practices. The result is Cliffs, formerly Well Services Limited, followed the move initiated by Lennox Petroleum Services and the exploitation continues. Gulf Petroleum simply followed suite.

Workers employed with Cliffs were advised that the Company would lose their contract to Lennox Petroleum Services if they did not go along with the move initiated by Lennox Petroleum. The Workers are performing under duress. They are away from their families for a longer period and are not adequately compensated. As a result they have decided that Enough is Enough.

Lennox Petroleum Services in particular have master minded the wicked act perpetrated on the workers. In 1997 Amoco agreed to increase an offshore Bonus of $250.00 per 14 days hitch to $340.00. Cliffs implemented the increase. To date Lennox Petroleum does not even pay the $250.00 Bonus. The workers are being paid $230.00 and receive $190.00 per 14 days hitch after tax. Down right advantage. !!!!

The respective Collective Agreements provides for payment for work on Rest days which the Companies refuse to pay.

As a result, an Interim Agreement has been arrived at, and it stipulates the following:

Offshore Workers required to work 14 days on, 14 days off hitch shall be paid an Offshore bonus of $1600 and a Retention Bonus of $800 payable quarterly.

Bonuses paid hereunder shall be prorated and paid to such workers as a unable to complete a 14-day hitch

Payments made pursuant to this agreement shall be adjusted in accordance with the ruling of the Industrial Court herein only if favourable to the Union.

The parties agree to draw up and execute this interim agreement and to file same with the Industrial Court.

Parties further agree that this interim agreement shall apply to the workers employed by:

Lennox Petroleum Services Ltd

Gulf Petroleum Services Ltd

Cliffs Drilling Trinidad Offshore Ltd

The parties agree there shall be no victimization against any person arising out of activities commencing August 29, 2001 to September 18, 2001.

This agreement to take effect September 18, 2001.

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