Labour Day is being commemorated today in an industrial relations climate that is the most turbulent it has been in years.
Negotiations between Chief Personnel Officer Dr Daryl Dindial and public sector unions got off to a rocky start last month with the unanimous rejection of the initial wage increase offer of two per cent. To underscore their disdain for the proposal, workers turned out in their numbers for a protest march through Port-of-Spain.
But the action has so far elicited only a slight increase in the offer from the CPO, and the gulf between that proposal and the double-digit demands from the unions remains insurmountable.
The unions have warned the Government to prepare for more industrial unrest over an offer, which the National Trade Union Centre has described as an act of economic violence and abuse against government employees.
Adding to the tense atmosphere is the looming retrenchment of more than 300 employees of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) who were served with severance letters for the second time on Friday.
Loss of employment is also in the immediate future for just over 100 employees of Unilever Caribbean Ltd (UCL) with the closure of that multinational corporation’s manufacturing division in T&T on July 31.
As they converge on the traditional birthplace of the labour movement in Fyzabad, trade union leaders are sending a grim message to all workers that their jobs could be at risk. To highlight their disdain for recent government decisions, the unions will table a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Although unions have always used the Labour Day platform to air their grievances against the Government of the day, this year social and economic challenges have added some impetus to their anti-establishment posturing.
But even as they focus on contemporary issues, trade unionists will also be reflecting on the historic events that took place 85 years ago on June 19.
Oil workers at Forest Reserve under the leadership of Tubal Uriah Butler began strike action. An attempt to arrest Butler for inciting breaches of the peace sparks widespread riots and unrest. These came to a head in Fyzabad where two police officers, Corporal Charlie King, and Sub-Inspector Bradburn, along with nine civilians were killed and 50 others wounded.
As was the case in 1937, the workers’ cry today is for decent conditions of employment, fair wages, and social reforms.
In theory, that does not seem so far removed from the current Government’s policy “to foster and develop a peaceful, competitive and productive industrial relations climate.” But the reality is that relations between government and labour are far from cordial, and prospects for meaningful dialogue are dim.
T&T’s post-COVID-19 recovery framework requires policies to increase productivity, build a dynamic labour market, and foster a supportive industrial relations environment. To achieve these objectives, government, and labour, along with the private sector, must demonstrate flexibility and willingness to participate in open dialogue.
Unfortunately, politics, differing ideologies and self-serving agendas have created the fractious industrial relations climate in which Labour Day 2022 is being observed. As a result, there is little chance of the critical issues being addressed in Fyzabad today.
The struggle continues.