'Me, me, me' attitude of some trade unions

THE EDITOR: I was once a proud member of the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) in the United Kingdom.

My performance appraisal was key to moving up the pay grade. My duly assigned union representative ensured positive compliance to the rules of the council. The public comes first. You arrived on time. You answered the telephone by at latest the fifth ring, and remained unfailingly polite with members of the public.

You referred difficult callers/visitors to your supervisor and did not engage in verbal fisticuffs.

TT trade unions appear unable to treat members of the public with due respect. They are all about "me, me, and me." In the middle of a pandemic where the public is under great physical and emotional duress, our unions are seemingly unable to be of pertinent use.

The two most difficult must surely be the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union and the Trinidad and Tobago United Teachers Association.

Accepting vaccinations for covid19 is a prerequisite for staying alive.

I recently saw an interview with a member of the SWWTU who paraded ignorance regarding the covid vaccines. I was shocked to the core. Then far worse is the story surfacing that some teachers have refused to be vaccinated. Who comes first?

The public who will have direct contact with unvaccinated workers on our ferries and water fronts? Must children and parents suffer distress and heartache if an unvaccinated teacher breathes on and infects our precious children? And for what?

Because the government is hesitant about stroking trade union egos? Are all trade unions expecting to be groveled to or they will advocate for vaccine hesitancy?

In a pandemic where members of the public are extremely vulnerable to the blind ignorance of others, please have a heart. Ego stroking from an overstretched government can always resume after we achieve herd immunity. And please, pretty please, no talk regarding outstanding wage negotiations. Not during this stressful year.

LYNETTE JOSEPH

Diego Martin