Caribbean360: PM talks with union shut down

PM talks with union shut down
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Chris Hoyos on 27/07/2011 10:00:00
 
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday July 27, 2011 - There's still uncertainty
over whether there will be a country wide strike after a meeting between Prime
Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and unions ended without resolution on the five
percent wage cap for public workers.
On one hand, the Prime Minister says she's confident that good sense will
prevail and they will be no national strike as threatened by the unions. On the
other hand, the workers' representatives say they're gearing up to make good on
their threat.
Following yesterday's highly anticipated meeting with 19 trade union leaders
which broke down after three hours, Persad-Bissessar said that although every
issue on the labour unions’ agenda as outlined in the Labour Day accord and
sent to her in their letter was discussed, and assurance given that there is no
five percent cap to negotiations, the meeting ended with the teams returning to
“square one”.
“I indicated to them there is no five percent cap and the unions should go
back to the bargaining table with the management of the respective employers and
start from fresh at the bargaining table…start from zero," she said.
Persad-Bissessar said while the “unions may well take industrial action as
they are entitled to do” government had contingency plans in place which she
didn’t think should be shared, especially as government intended to keep the
country up and running.
“I have no reason to doubt otherwise or to believe there is going to be a
national strike. There may be a strike of some workers but not a national
strike,” she said, pointing out there are 32,000 public servants and 4,000
WASA workers who fall under the Public Services Association (PSA) which had
settled negotiations.
“I have faith and confidence in the people and citizens of this country…good
sense will prevail and the majority of persons want the country to succeed and
do well and at the end of the day those persons will determine what direction we
go in.”
However, President-General of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel
Roget, who led the union bosses, has declared war.
"We are entering a period of war. The exact amount of days, we cannot say," he
told workers after the meeting.
"I am calling on all the workers here this evening, through the lack of respect
and certainly through the lack of embracing the opportunity that was once again
presented by the labour movement to resolve this issue that was disregarded.
What in fact has happened is that the Prime Minister and her government have
declared war on the workers of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Roget said that despite the Prime Minister's insistence there was no wage cap,
"we have been at all of the bargaining tables and all of them are saying to us
that there is a cap. There is in fact a cap, despite the lack of knowledge by
the Prime Minister."
He said the unions wanted was a continuation of the negotiations without the
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