As local contractors get set to take over work on the $7.5 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin, the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) hopes to discuss employment for retrenched workers of Brazilian firm, Construtora OAS.
Workers gathered at the company’s defunct Golconda office yesterday to collect dismissal letters and details about their severance packages after the company issued a notice to lay-off 860 workers on Friday.
Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Roget said the union wanted to meet with the highway’s project manager, the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Nidco), to discuss whether the local contractors could hire the workers.
Although he continued to call on employers not to use the contraction of the local economy to send workers home, he said the union did not oppose the company’s proposal to retrench workers at a meeting on March 7. He said the union recognised that there were many “irregularities” with OAS’ contract.
Instead, he said its aim was to ensure workers got all their severance benefits and outstanding salaries before the company left T&T. Nidco’s acting president, Steve Garibsingh, told the T&T Guardian on Tuesday Construtora OAS planned to use several local contractors to complete the project in order to leave the site by the end of May.
Discussions between OAS Construtora and local contractors were ongoing and last Friday the company gave an undertaking to the OWTU to pay workers their severance benefits, encashment for unused vacation, outstanding salaries and salaries leading up to their employment termination date, April 25.
The highway was expected to be completed by next month. However, Construtora OAS has not resumed work since it shut down operations for the Christmas vacation, blaming it on difficulties in settling arrears to suppliers and sub-contractors.
Already a few sub-contractors and suppliers won court orders and have already seized company equipment, including an asphalt plant at Golconda. With the assets going quickly, Roget said the union was skeptical the company would attempt to leave the country before paying off the workers. He said it was putting several plans in action to ensure that did not happen.