Backed by over 150 members, trade union heads descended on two of the nation’s pillars of democracy yesterday, delivering letters expressing their lack of confidence in Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his administration.
The letter, detailing their disenchantment, was addressed to President Paula-Mae Weekes and delivered to her office at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.
Letters were also delivered at the Red House in lower Port-of-Spain, addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives Bridgid Annisette-George, President of the Senate Christine Kangaloo and Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who left a parliamentary sitting to receive it personally.
Met with chants by members that “Rowley must go,” when she got outside Kamla Persad-Bissessar accepted the letter.
“The Opposition will continue, as I said before, to press for bread, peace and justice. We’ll take all legal steps that we can to have this corrupt, incompetent Government removed from office once and for all,” she said.
Speaking with reporters after delivering the first letter, Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president, Ancel Roget said this was them making good on their promise from Labour Day, where trade union members moved a vote of no-confidence in the PM and his Government.
“If it’s one thing that we are going to expose is the wickedness and vindictiveness and the lack of proper governance coming from this Government headed by its incompetent Prime Minister Dr Kieth Christopher Rowley,” Roget said.
He said the unions’ next event is a motorcade from San Fernando to Port-of-Spain on July 3. He said this is part of ensuring their letters are taken seriously, as he called on the public to lend support.
“Give support to the activities that we will be putting on the ground to make sure that they listen and not only listen, but that they put in place measures that would alleviate the pressure and the hardship and the pain and the suffering on the ordinary poor people and workers,” he said.
He said the union is also mobilising a march on the nation’s capital.
Asked by Guardian Media what the union’s next move would be if their efforts don’t yield the results they hope for, Roget said: “Let’s see how it goes.”
The six-page letter said the trade union movement has lost confidence in Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his administration’s ability to “properly protect workers.”
It cited numerous reasons for its conclusion. These include that the current administration has shown “complete disregard for the pain and suffering of ordinary workers,” that it plans to send home workers from many state-owned companies, contracting out of permanent positions, refusal to commence outstanding negotiations, the “disrespectful, totally inadequate and unacceptable” wage offers, and that Government has afforded themselves increased allowances, tax exemptions and indexed pensions.
It said the trade union movement “will do all that is necessary to regain and preserve the dignity, respect and status of all workers ensuring that all workers have a better quality of life and a decent standard of living.”