Roget: Women’s issues on back burner

OWTU President General Ancel Roget. FILE PHOTO
OWTU President General Ancel Roget. FILE PHOTO

TODAY, workers’ issues are left on the back burner and women’s issues are left even behind that. In the security industry in TT, women outnumber the men but they are the most exploited in the industry.

So said president of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget, addressing the Women’s Committee of the Estate Police Association (EPA) yesterday at the OWTU office in Marabella.

The JTUM, he said, embraces the opportunity to stand with the EPA as it moves to establish a women’s arm. He urged the EPA never to turn a blind eye to issues affecting women and to not see these issues as being different from those of other workers.

“I am happy that the executive of the EPA intends to work with the trade union in addressing all of the issues,” he said. “We will be lending our support wherever and whenever, to ensure that the EPA becomes stronger.”

For some strange reason, he said for some years the executive of the EPA has been nonfunctional in dealing with serious issues, and some including women’s issues, were not properly addressed, Roget said. The trade union movement in this country will be stronger with a functioning EPA.

“When the EPA is fully functional with all organs working including the women’s arm, it strengthens the representation it brings to people.”

He said there wass a reason why the authorities say “associations” and “unions.”

“They try to make a separation between the trade union movement and the different associations. When we are separated we become weak, and this is what they want.” But he said the OWTU intends to stand with every individual, every worker prepared to stand up for themselves against exploitation in one form or another.

President of the EPA Deryck Richardson said the first women’s affairs officer was assigned to the association in Kesi Lewis. He also said in the EPA’s election of officers in 2022, a leader of women’s affairs will occupy a chair in the executive.

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