The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) says they are against any sale of the country’s assets and are questioning the National Gas Company’s (NGC) move to sell two offshore platforms before meeting with the union.
Responding to yesterday’s T&T Guardian report on the US$.5 million deal between NGC and Spanish energy company Repsol E&P T&T Ltd, the union’s president general Ancel Roget said the union would be making their own investigation into the deal.
Given the current economic slump, driven by low oil and gas prices, he said now was the time to keep all of the country’s valuable assets, especially those in the energy sector.
“We have seen that issue raised in the (news)papers this morning and we are going to make our own investigation to be able to comment further on that. Let me just say we are against privatisation and we are against selling out of the country's assets. This is a time when we ought to keep all of our crown jewels, all of our productive sectors, the energy sector, all of our platforms and all of the country's assets ought not to be sold in some fire sale.
“We are against that and in any event, how come we can take these decision before we have an opportunity to contribute at the level of tripartite discussions. Therefore, if we are called on to contribute to what level of sacrifice or what we should do as a country going forward, how come we can hear this announcement ahead of us being called to that tripartite discussion to make a decision, which decision will impact the country for now and for in the future going forward?
“Therefore, we are against that but the precise information we need to gather, except to say again that we are against privatisation and the sell out of the country's assets,” Roget said.