Ahead of Labour Day celebrations on Friday, government is reaffirming its commitment to protecting workers’ rights.
Speaking during debate on legislation aimed at preserving collective bargaining protections for former Petrotrin workers, Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Leroy Baptiste said sustainable economic development must be built on respect for workers, the rule of law and industrial relations institutions.
Linking his contribution to social justice, Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Leroy Baptiste said the ‘Miscellaneous Provisions (Heritage Petroleum, Paria Fuel Trading and Guaracara Refining Vesting) (Amendment) Bill’ addresses a fundamental industrial relations issue.
He noted that the rights of workers, acquired through hard work and sacrifice, should be protected.
“They were secured through decades of sacrifice, organization, negotiation and collective action.
They were secured through the determination of ordinary working men and women who believed that dignity at work was worth defending. That principle remains as relevant today as it was nearly 90 years ago.”
Minister Baptiste stressed that government is committed to protecting those rights and ensuring employees are not disadvantaged by decisions beyond their control.
“This government firmly believes that economic development and worker protection are not competing objectives. We reject the false notion that industrial progress requires the erosion of labor rights. We reject the idea that workers must surrender representation and collective bargaining protections in order for enterprises to remain viable.”
Supporting the measure, Minister in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries Ernesto Kesar said the bill marks the beginning of efforts to restore workplace standards and strengthen protections for workers in the energy sector.
“This vesting bill madam speaker will begin to, not immediately, restore standards of work, will begin to restore quality terms and conditions back to this industry but more than that madam deputy speaker it will begin to restore standards madam deputy speaker, standards that will be evaluated, policed if it needs to and corrected.”
The bill seeks to preserve collective bargaining agreements that existed before Petrotrin’s 2018 restructuring, while maintaining the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union’s status as the recognised majority union for affected workers. Government says the measure will ensure those rights and obligations continue under successor companies.