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The Year in Review
Group CEO’s Report and Management Discussion 2012 (continued)
as it related to the settlement of the collective agreement. This culminated with the
breakdown in negotiations between TCL and TPL and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade
Union (OWTU). As previously indicated, the Union served strike notice against those
companies on Monday 27 February, 2012. One week later, the company notified the
Union of lockout action and invited all employees of TCL and TPL to return to work
on the basis of individual contracts, as permissible under the Trinidad and Tobago
Industrial Relations Act. The 92-day strike ended on 27 May, 2012 and at the end
of the strike, the company imposed disciplinary action against 53 employees who
committed several infractions.
Despite the impending challenges at the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Court, it
is critical that the company place attention on restoring relations with its employee
base and the Unions. Management must therefore continue to focus on facilitating
on-going dialogue and communication with its work force, highlighting the economic
realities of the organisation and its strategies for improving morale, productivity and
profitability. Employee engagement throughout the Group is therefore of utmost
importance at this time.
7.0 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Communication for the greater part of the year was inevitably dominated by TCL’s
prolonged industrial relations impasse. Several tactical actions were engaged to
mitigate negative social impact and ultimately image deterioration; among these:
an emphasis on the timely delivery of accurate information towards informed
stakeholder perceptions and public support.
In an on-going show of its corporate social responsibility, the Group supported
Habitat for Humanity with donations of cement for low-income housing, from which
20 families in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana benefited. Other core CSR initiatives
included assistance to students; support for the University of the West Indies (UWI)
through the provision of cement for the new Vice Chancellery at the Mona Campus;
and a joint road rehabilitation project with the National Works Agency in Jamaica,
which further promoted CCCL’s ‘concrete road’ thrust launched in the fourth quarter
of 2012.
Moving ahead, efforts will continue to revolve around image recovery and
maintenance, strongly driven by stakeholder involvement and communications.
8.0 EXECUTIVE CHANGES
During the year, Messrs. Hayden Ferreira and Alan Nobie retired from the Group.
Mr. Jinda Maharaj, formerly the Group Energy Optimisation Manager was appointed
to succeed Mr. Ferreira as Group Manufacturing Development Manager, and
Ms. Kathryna Baptiste joined as Group Manager Legal/Company Secretary.
9.0 LOOKING AHEAD
As a Group, we move forward with optimism into 2013 and beyond. The worst is
now behind us as some of the critical plant maintenance programmes were carried
out upon completion of the debt restructuring in June 2012. The rest of the planned
