Trade Unions in Trinidad & Tobago have declared “war” on the government without telling their members the true cost of the demands or how their battles will help the average worker get a better quality of life.
The People’s Partnership government inherited a near bankrupt treasury, which was the result of years of reckless spending by the previous government. Interestingly that government had no love for the working class yet none of the unions now clamouring for huge wage increases is talking about that.
What is clear is that the unions are behaving in a most selfish manner without regard to implications of their actions for the medium and long term in the country.
The short term result of their planned national strike will be to deprive the very people they claim to represent of basic services.
If you look at what is happening in the global economy, there is cause for worry.
The United States has just lost its AAA rating for its treasury bonds for the first time in 70 years.
What that means is that it can no longer sustain the low interest rates that helped keep the economy afloat. Financial analysts say that it’s the first sign that U.S. government will soon have higher borrowing costs, which means taxpayers will have to put out tens of billions of dollars a year to sustain the economy.
The ripple effect is that interest rates for consumers and companies seeking mortgages, credit cards and business loans will also go up.
The People’s Partnership government inherited a near bankrupt treasury, which was the result of years of reckless spending by the previous government. Interestingly that government had no love for the working class yet none of the unions now clamouring for huge wage increases is talking about that.
What is clear is that the unions are behaving in a most selfish manner without regard to implications of their actions for the medium and long term in the country.
The short term result of their planned national strike will be to deprive the very people they claim to represent of basic services.
When the lights go out and the taps run dry everybody suffers. Yet that is exactly what the unions are threatening to do and they are asking for support for this action from the very people who will suffer most.
It is time that the unions tell their members the demands for more money cannot be met without causing irreparable damage to the national economy that is just starting to emerge from near collapse.
The reality, no matter how you look at it, is that Trinidad and Tobago cannot meet the demands of the unions and contrary to what the unions are saying, you cannot borrow to finance recurrent expenditure and to pay wages; that is a formula for economic disaster.
Watson Duke and the Public services Association understood that and backed down on their demands. If the other trade unions honestly pay attention to what is happening in the country and in the world they would do the same.
It is time that the unions tell their members the demands for more money cannot be met without causing irreparable damage to the national economy that is just starting to emerge from near collapse.
The reality, no matter how you look at it, is that Trinidad and Tobago cannot meet the demands of the unions and contrary to what the unions are saying, you cannot borrow to finance recurrent expenditure and to pay wages; that is a formula for economic disaster.
Watson Duke and the Public services Association understood that and backed down on their demands. If the other trade unions honestly pay attention to what is happening in the country and in the world they would do the same.
The question is whether they care about the national economy and their membership or whether their political agenda to try to destabilize the government is more important.
If you look at what is happening in the global economy, there is cause for worry.
The United States has just lost its AAA rating for its treasury bonds for the first time in 70 years.
What that means is that it can no longer sustain the low interest rates that helped keep the economy afloat. Financial analysts say that it’s the first sign that U.S. government will soon have higher borrowing costs, which means taxpayers will have to put out tens of billions of dollars a year to sustain the economy.
The ripple effect is that interest rates for consumers and companies seeking mortgages, credit cards and business loans will also go up.
The real worry for the US is that investors will pull their money out of the system because they know that it is bad economics to believe you can spend yourself out of debt or tax yourself into prosperity. This is just plain common sense.
And we all know that what happens in the US affects the global economy. It happened in 2008 and we have still not recovered.
So if workers in Trinidad and Tobago are smart they would start paying attention to what is really happening and tell their union leaders to explain a few things to them:
And we all know that what happens in the US affects the global economy. It happened in 2008 and we have still not recovered.
So if workers in Trinidad and Tobago are smart they would start paying attention to what is really happening and tell their union leaders to explain a few things to them:
- They need to ask them to explain how they can have secure jobs when reckless strikes cripple the economy
- They need to ask them to explain how shutting off water and turning off the lights will feed and clothe their children or provide better health care or other services
- They need to ask them to explain how they intend to get a better deal for them by trying to bite the very hands that feed them
Now is the time to ask these questions. Tomorrow will be too late.
Jai Parasram | 07 July 2011
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