Oilfields Workers' Trade Union

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**OWTU**

Oilfields Workers' Trade Union
Founded	July 25, 1937
Members	9000
Country	Trinidad and Tobago
Affiliation	ICEM FITUN
Key people	Errol K. McLeod, president
Office location	San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Website	www.owtu.org

The Oilfields Workers Trade Union or OWTU is one of the most powerful trade unions in Trinidad and Tobago. Currently led by Errol McLeod, the union was born out of the 1937 Labour Riots, the union was nominally led by the imprisoned TUB Butler but was actually organised by lawyer Adrian Cola Rienzi. The union was established on July 25, 1937 and formally registered on September 15. The first meetings were held in Fyzabad, and the first official headquarters were established on Coffee Street, San Fernando.

In the 1960s and 1970s, under the leadership of George Weekes, the union grew into a potent political force, playing a role in the Black Power movement in 1970 and playing a role in the foundation of the United Labour Front.