Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) General Secretary Michael Annisette has raised concerns about the lack of diversity and labour representation on state boards.
Annisette first made the comments about the absence of labour representatives on state boards during the Labour Day Rally in Fyzabad on Thursday, prompting a response from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
He has since said his remarks were not intended to provoke division or “criticise” but to “speak truth to power.”
Asked to elaborate on this yesterday, Annisette said the exclusion of labour representatives and the apparent lack of ethnic and class diversity on state boards was raising concern across the trade union sector.
“Yes, obviously, if we are serious about breaking this ethnic kind of politics and race politics, the UNC, in my humble opinion, must rise above that,” Annisette said in a telephone interview.
“There must be diversity not only in what we say but in what we do. If you love us and we are all your children, then there should be no bastard children in any family.”
Annisette stressed that diversity should not only be about race and ethnicity, but also about including working-class voices.
“Labour must have input on state boards, especially where there are majority-recognised unions. That is part of tri-partism. You can’t talk tri-partism and not practise it.”
He said he was particularly disturbed at the composition of the Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT), National Gas Company (NGC), Maintenance Training and Security Company Limited (MTS), Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) boards. He said labour’s presence on boards would help inform decision-making, especially in enterprises that directly affect workers’ welfare.
“We must not be an afterthought. Whatever decision a board makes will affect workers. We must have a say from the bottom to the top,” he said.
Annisette said his remarks came after NATUC members noticed that recent board appointments at several agencies lacked union representation.
“We observed the NGC, the T&TEC board, and others. Right away, we saw no labour representatives. That was a deep concern of the NATUC executive and others in the trade union movement.”
He added, “I thought it was appropriate to speak truth to power. I was not gossiping. I was expressing the voice of labour. I was taught to speak the truth, no matter how painful.”
He said some of the comments he made publicly on Thursday were also shared by other union representatives.
“There were other unions that expressed that same view. It was important for me to raise the issue on Labour Day because what we were seeing was exclusion. That exclusion is a problem.”
He pointed out that the United National Congress (UNC) had benefited from labour’s support in the lead-up to the General Election.
“Several unions, including the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union, stood up strongly against the PNM’s four per cent offer. We were there in defiance of what the last government was doing.”
He said the current Government cannot afford to repeat the missteps of the previous administration.
“You cannot correct a wrong by doing what the PNM did. That is not how democracy works. I criticised the PNM, and I will criticise the UNC in that context. I want to see more balanced boards, not only from one ethnicity. There must be diversity,” he argued.
Asked whether he had the opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister before raising the matter publicly, Annisette said no.
“I woke up one morning and saw the boards being appointed. I thought it would have been prudent to include labour. That would have sent the right signal to the working class.”
He added, “When you talk about being people-centred and worker-centred, you must show that by action. That means giving labour its rightful seat at the table, not only when it’s convenient.”
Annisette said the issue was not about political favour but about principle.
“Germany has made it a policy to include labour on boards. Labour knows what is happening on the ground. We are in touch with the workers. That perspective is important for any board to function properly.”
He said the current composition of the boards at agencies such as WASA, MTS, NGC and T&TEC also failed to reflect the reality of the working population.
On Labour Day, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar immediately responded to the concerns raised by Annisette when he had addressed the gathering earlier.
Speaking from the same platform, she said her Government had already begun appointing members of the labour movement to state boards and intended to do more.
“Already, we have started to place persons from the labour movement on the state boards,” she said.
“Those who think it’s taking too long, remember Rome was not built in a day. We are working on it.”
Persad-Bissessar said 18 more boards were in the process of being appointed, and she assured the labour movement that they would not be left out.
“I have asked my Minister of Labour to coordinate that liaison with the labour movement to ensure that labour is not left out. Everybody, all will have a place.”
She also made a broader call for cooperation.
“Let us work together for the betterment of Trinidad and Tobago. We are saying we will work on the workers’ agenda in this country.”