Security first

Barely six years ago, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago had no clear rules in terms of health, security and environment in the domain of petrol exploitation, the main activity in this southern Caribbean archipelago. “We owed security standards to each foreign client. It used to cost us a fortune (100,000 dollars per month on average, in other words 73,500 euros, editorial note),” states Roger Packer, Vice-President of the Tucker Energy petrol company. A budget that has been halved since the 2005 launch of STOW-TT (Safe to Work in Trinidad and Tobago). Thanks to the financial support
of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Point Lisas Energy Association (PLEA), this programme for the harmonisation of standards has allowed different market players to work with major multinationals and to broach certain international markets.
Dr Thackwray Driver, CEO of the South Trinidad Chamber, remembers
the black period traversed by the island: “Three years ago, I received at least two complaints per month from local companies that considered themselves victims of a form of discrimination.” Today, complaints are rare, even non-existent, and the standards implemented in the context of STOW-TT are more restrictive than those existing within the country: “Eight years ago even, the work force was not accorded much importance. If a worker lost a finger, it bothered no one. Today, it has become unacceptable,” declares Roger Packer. “Security now takes up 20 % of our time and our money.” This would have been unthinkable before STOW-TT, a time when injured workers ran the risk of losing their jobs; now, employees have the right “to refuse to work in difficult zones and benefit from security training”.
Another advance is “the budget of 500,000 dollars (367,500 euros) that has been granted to us until 2010,” points out Dr Thackwray Driver. These funds will be used to certify forty small companies managed by citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, with annual growth not exceeding 5 million dollars (3.7 million euros) per year. The STOW-TT now needs to meet another challenge to prove its genuine value – “that of staying on top” – as Roger Packer suggests.