The heads of several unions have remained mum after Thursday’s confrontation between members of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) and secretary general Peter Morris at the union headquarters in Port-of-Spain.
Morris was challenged by members over the status of the union and its accounts during the incident, and several members had to be restrained by their colleagues, while some angry members almost came to blows.
The members said they had been trying to get an audience with Morris for months, after a decision to replace the last executive without their permission.
Their emotions escalated after notices in two daily newspapers stated that Michael Annisette was no longer president general.
“We tried to send him emails to find out what is going on ... for some reason, he’s refusing to acknowledge the emails, he’s refusing to respond to the emails, every time we asked for a date, there is no date,” a member said.
“He has removed the executive council without the permission of the branches, he has put signatories on the cheques without permission from anybody,” she added.
The members found out Morris was at Republic Bank’s Independence Square and proceeded there, where they found him exiting the institution and asked him to accompany them back to the hall where conversations became heated.
Guardian Media yesterday reached out to other union executives for their thoughts on Thursday’s events.
Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teacher’s Association (TTUTA) president Martin Lum Kin declined comment. So too did Communications Worker’s Union (CWU) secretary general Joanne Ogeer.
Calls to Joint Trade Union Movement general secretary Ozzi Warwick and Steel Workers Union president Timothy Bailey went unanswered.
Meanwhile, SWWTU members yesterday said they had not yet decided on their next move.
Guardian Media attempted to contact Morris for comment but calls went unanswered.