The management of Petrojam has rejected claims that its plant is no longer safe and that its workers are being exposed to danger.

"We know there are safety issues but these are regular issues that you will find even in a brand-new plant and they are manageable," Winston Watson, managing director of Petrojam, told The Gleaner yesterday.

"If the risk is not manageable, we will shut down the plant and address it."

He was responding to concerns raised by the National Workers Union (NWU), which has written to the company, arguing that the plant is no longer safe.

Too many complaints

"(Petrojam) appears to be lax in rigidly enforcing national and self-defined standards and (there are) too many complaints from the technicians that they are not fully exposed to basic and standard operating procedures," charged Danny Roberts, deputy island supervisor of the NWU.

According to Roberts, this could have been the reason for the fire which damaged Petrojam's ethanol plant late last year.

Roberts has also expressed opposition to a decision by the management of Petrojam to reintroduce Heavy Cycle Oil, (HCO) at the plant.

"When it (HCO) was first introduced at Petrojam and the harmful effects were pointed out, the union and the management agreed that it would no longer be imported. We are, therefore, surprised that the management has reneged on this understanding," Roberts added.

No such agreement

But Watson was adamant that there was no such agreement and that HCO is no more dangerous than the other fuel processed at the refinery.

"Every fuel is a risk but what you need to do is to take the necessary precautions and we are doing that," Watson responded.

"What is happening is that we are in (wage) negotiations and the union wants to make a case for hazard allowance so it is now arguing about safety issues," Watson added.

But this was rejected by the NWU, which said the two issues are unrelated.

"I'm sorry Mr Watson is playing politics with the issues of the workers' welfare. The question of the hazard allowance is something that is being addressed through the Ministry of Labour and the IDT (Industrial Disputes Tribunal). It has nothing to do with the safety concerns the workers have expressed," Roberts said.

The NWU has written to the Ministry of Labour, calling on its Inspectorate Division to conduct an investigation of the Petrojam plant to determine if it is meeting the established safety standards.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com