Days after announcing the planned closure of the Petrotrin refinery, board chairman Wilfred Espinet is warning employees about increased levels of absenteeism. He has also issued a strong caution to anyone who may be contemplating acts of violence to damage the company’s assets, saying they may be disqualified from getting any form of exit compensation.
In an internal memo to staff dated September 3 titled “Clarification on Current Issues,” a copy of which the T&T Guardian obtained, Espinet admitted the company recognised that there was a lot of “uncertainty and anxiety” within the organisation.
He noted that since the announcement of the refinery shutdown there had been a “noticeable increase in absenteeism throughout the company,” which can prove to be “counter-productive.”
But Espinet said while the board had announced plans for a “restructuring,” no employee had been given “notice of termination” of their employment and as a result, there had been no change in their “obligation” to the company. He advised employees to “re-familiarise” themselves with the Absenteeism Policy, pointing to the sections on Policy, Responsibilities and Procedure.
Espinet noted some “key highlights” of the policy, the first relating to excessive absenteeism exceeding nine days in six consecutive months, which is subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
The Petrotrin chairman said the company was “particularly sensitive” about the increases in “stress and anxiety” the loss of employment may cause and remained open to suggestions in addressing the concerns. But he said psychological and financial counselling and advice are available to “all employees and their families for a period of six months.”
Under the sub-heading “Securing Our Assets” in the memo, Espinet said the company recognised that there may be persons who may decide to “resort to violence and or seek to damage assets.” But he said any such action would be “unlawful and constitutes a breach of employment” and will “disqualify offending individuals from receiving any form of exit compensation.”
Espinet urged employees and their representatives to keep true to their serious obligation of ensuring that as the country’s only fuel supplier they “maintain an uninterrupted supply of fuel for the nation.”
The memo noted that while October 1 is the start of the transition that would not be the “last day of work for every Petrotrin employee.”
The timing and duration of the transition, according to the memo from Espinet, will be determined by “our ability to do it smoothly, efficiently and safely over the next few months,” as he pointed out that it would be “impractical to have a single hard stop date.”
The staff was told the company was now in the process of implementing the “most practical approach to transition the company, without negatively affecting the business.” A smooth transition, according to Espinet, required an “overlap between the modes of operation.” In the meantime, he said Petrotrin’s business continues to operate as usual, adding it was imperative that the company continue to manage its assets and operations “responsibly because we have financial and other obligations to our suppliers, contractors, customers and most importantly you our employees.”
Espinet also informed the workers that details on compensation and benefits are currently being finalised and will be communicated as soon as they are completed.
“We do not want to provide any approximations or any information that is not completely accurate,” he said, noting this would lead to “greater uncertainty.”