DISGRUNTLED Petrojam workers, who resumed duties Wednesday following a one-day strike, are now awaiting today’s meeting with Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell that could determine if further industrial action will be taken.

Marlon Campbell, president of the Petroleum Workers’ Association (PWA), which represents the workers, said the work resumption was agreed on at the Ministry of Labour after it was agreed that a meeting would be arranged with the energy minister to discuss their safety concerns.

He said the finance ministry is also expected to be represented at that meeting. “We are pulling all parties to the table, and based on the outcome of that meeting we will decide on the way forward,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.

“We are not pleased with the conditions that we have to be working under. Not only are these conditions placing us in harm’s way, they are also posing a risk to our health,” Campbell told the Observer on Tuesday.

Speaking to some of the specific hazards at the State-run oil refinery, Campbell said that some areas of the plant have extremely high levels of benzene, carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases.

Also, he said there are areas where workers must brave heat in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit for up to three minutes, and longer on certain occasions. In addition, Campbell noted the extremely high noise level in some areas of plant. He also said that climbing storage tanks presents another risk, as workers have to carry equipment, which means their hands are not free. “It means you don’t have your hands to give you support. A worker fell and still hasn’t recovered after three years,” he said.

At the same time, Campbell said the company does provide satisfactory insurance coverage, but, “with the best of insurance coverage, it’s never able to bring you back. I won’t lie, they give good insurance, but if you insure me and then you have something that is going to put me at risk like that, that’s like giving me with one hand and taking it out the other”.

Although Tuesday’s strike slowed up the operations of tanker drivers, president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association Leonard Green said the short-lived industrial action had not affected service stations.

Petrojam’s general manager Howard Mollison said Wednesday that the management would continue to have dialogue with the PWA to resolve the safety concerns.