Trade unions’ motorcade against Prime Minister, government rolls on despite rain

Despite heavy rain throughout the country, dozens of people turned out on Sunday for a motorcade by trade unions, which began in Sangre Grande and ended in Port of Spain.

Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president Ancel Roget, at the meeting point at North Eastern College in Sangre Grande, said the motorcade was organised to gather support for and draw attention to the symbolic no-confidence motion passed by the trade union movement against the Prime Minister and his government on Labour Day.

“We did not come to that decision lightly. It is after all the problems and issues experienced and, of course, the most ridiculous offer by the government for the settlement of negotiations which are nine and, in some cases, 12 years outstanding.

“This was rejected by the union movement as being ridiculous. It (the motion) was also passed on the basis of the treatment and the attack on workers, the retrenchment of many thousands of workers, the decimation of many state enterprises, the privatisation, wanting to send home public officers without these negotiations settled, all of which point to an attack on workers with paying jobs and working people in the country.”

Roget said Sunday’s motorcade, as well as one the previous week from Palmiste to PoS, was part of a mobilisation towards a bigger initiative which he could not yet disclose.

PSA president Leroy Baptiste said the macro-economic policies of the government were causing the middle class to be decimated.

“This country is going down a direction where the gap between the haves and have nots is widening, and this must come to a halt. Workers have a right to be able to take care of themselves and their families, to put a roof over their heads, to proper healthcare, and the reality is that they can’t, based on the macroeconomic policies being driven in this country.

Baptiste asked who could afford to buy a house on the open market, given that many people were getting low wages and were on contract for many years.

“By making us temporary contract workers, they’re not giving us security of tenure. Who could accept a situation where the government is attacking organised labour and the trade union movement? The only vehicle to ensure workers could achieve a good-paying job is under attack.”

Retrenchment is becoming the norm, he said.

“Enough is enough, workers will fight back for their families, to put a roof over the heads of their families, for their children, and their children’s children. That is our right.”

Among the unions present were the Public Services’ Association, the Postal Workers' Union, the Industrial, General and Sanitation Workers' Union, the Banking, Insurance and General Workers' Union, the Transport Industrial Workers' Union, the Fire Services Association, the Aviation, Communication and Allied Workers' Union, the National Union of General and Federated Workers, the TT Unified Teachers’ Association, and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union.