Issue is what union members ready to do

THE EDITOR: The issue is not Amalgamated Workers Union president Michael Prentice. Neither is it OWTU president Ancel Roget nor Prime Minister Rowley. The issue is what are the options open to the membership of the trade unions and what are they prepared to do to beat back the Government’s wage suppression policy?

Lambasting Prentice is all well and good, but while it exposes the fragility of the unity among the union leaders, it throws no light on the major issue: what are the workers prepared to do?

That question can only be answered if the leadership of the trade union movement stops believing they are the labour movement. The leaders cannot decide what the workers must do. Their duty is to take the issue to the workers, explain the options open to them and seek guidance from them as to the way forward.

Union leaders are not bosses, as the media refer to them. They are servants of the membership and are duty bound to carry out the wishes of the membership.

Union leaders say they operate in the interest of their members, but they do not consult with their members and expect their members to follow instructions. A step in the right direction would be to call an all-union conference of shop stewards and branch officers.

GERRY KANGALEE

Rambert Village