‘Mother of all marches’ begins in South

Union leaders march along the fence at Petrotin refinery. At center, President General of the OWTU Ancel Roget supported by MSJ political leader Dabvid Abdulah, ATGWU President Nirvan Maharaj, Couva South MP Rudy Indarsing.
PHOTO BY ANIL RAMPERSAD.
Union leaders march along the fence at Petrotin refinery. At center, President General of the OWTU Ancel Roget supported by MSJ political leader Dabvid Abdulah, ATGWU President Nirvan Maharaj, Couva South MP Rudy Indarsing. PHOTO BY ANIL RAMPERSAD.

THE historic three-day “mother of all marches” got under way yesterday under a broiling mid-morning sun as hundreds of Petrotrin workers began the long trek which will take them from the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout to the Brian Lara Promenade on Friday.

The march also attracted several Opposition politicians, including UNC MPs David Lee and Rudranath Indarsingh. as well as Congress of the People leader Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan.
The march also brought together labour leaders from other trade union federations, most notably NATUC, and PSA president Watson Duke who said although the labour movement may appear “fractured” in the public’s eyes, it was always united whenever it was threatened by outside forces.

“I thank (Oilfield Workers leader Ancel) Roget for the opportunity to bring labour together. I have always maintained that labour, as fractured as it may appear in the public, is always united at its core because we always represent one thing – labour, people.
“As they say back home, we ‘ded ded.’ We ‘ded ded’ with the OWTU and we ded ded with TT. Is only smoke, the fire will come.”

From 7.30am, workers began assembling at the roundabout for the march, with prayers from representatives from the three major religions. After they sang the national anthem, Roget declared that the march, which had been previously attempted in 1975 to unite workers from the sugar and oil industries, but ended in the Bloody Tuesday incident, would succeed because of God’s grace and the determination of the workers.

Speaking to reporters beforehand, Roget said Petrotrin’s narrative, as being told by the government, is “false and erroneous.”
“We will prove that not only on the streets but all of the technical data, all of the financial data, everything points to one issue and that is: Petrotrin can be made a very successful entity for the country, not for no private interest. “We are not being governed properly. In fact we deserve much better than that. TT do not allow this moment to pass without standing on the correct side of history, registering your support for what is true, what is just, what is fair and what is in the interest of TT.”

He said unlike previous marches, the union leaders would not be leaving at the end of the day’s march but would camp out wherever the march had stopped and resume on the following day.
“We would camp out at Rienzi, and camp out at Aranguez.”

Seepersad-Bachan said the COP was in “solidarity” with the union, as it was vehemently opposed to the shutting down of the refinery.

“We are against the decision to close this refinery. It is now for the citizens of this country to stand up against this decision. There is no north versus south in this decision, there is no east and west, there is no Trinidad versus Tobago, it is all of us, all of us will be affected.”

All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union (ATGWU) boss Nirvan Maharaj said over 250,000 people had suffered when the sugar industry was shut down.
“This PNM government has the unique distinction of destroying the sugar industry and now they are attempting to destroy the oil industry, and we must unite together as one to put a stop to this most anti-labour organisation, the PNM.”

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"‘Mother of all marches’ begins in South"

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