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| File: OWTU boss Ancel Roget addresses workers |
She is still facing another what is perhaps a more contentious issue. And it’s coming from the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), which is a far more belligerent group that the Congress of the People.
The MSJ has sent the Prime Minister a list of 10 demands that it wants her to address before the government celebrates its second anniversary on May 24.
The 10 issues as outlined by the MSJ are:
- Settlement of negotiations in a fair and equitable manner consistent with the free collective bargaining process
- Fair share of State resources to communities and the equitable distribution of jobs
- Reduced rights of land tenure and massive increase of lease rates to farmers without consultation
- Governance: process of constitution reform and local government reform, addressing state sector governance, cutting all forms of discrimination, political victimisation, corruption, nepotism and patronage
- Getting rid of the odious system of contract labour in the public service and state sectors
- Privatisation, especially of Petrotrin (Trinmar’s acreage) and First Citizens
- Advancing the agenda of Labour Law reform
- The protection of the livelihoods of fisherfolk
- Implementing the cultural sector agenda, as committed to in the manifesto
- Establishing a policy position so as to stop the use of force by the Police Service to frustrate, intimidate and stop the legitimate and peaceful activities of civil society, including peaceful protest action by workers and the rights of the media
The government has dealt with and is dealing with some of these issues; others cannot be resolved with the haste that the MSJ expects and Kamla may not have jurisdiction to deal with some of them. The MSJ knows that, so what really is its point?
David Abdullah finds himself in a rather awkward position. The MSJ leader is walking in big shoes inherited from Errol McLeod, the man who committed the MSJ to the partnership. And like Mc Leod he must find a balance between his dual role.
He is a Government Senator and leader of one of the five parties in the MSJ and also the general secretary of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), which is the labour body that is most vocal in its condemnation of the government.
The OWTU has already drawn a line in the sand. President General Ancel Roget is on record as saying he wants to bring down the government and has pledged to do what’s necessary to achieve that whenever the next election comes along. That leaves Abdullah little wiggle room to negotiate in good faith.
The question for Abdullah is whether he really wants to lead a labour party from outside the partnership that would not be able to win an election or whether he would find areas of compromise so that labour could still have a seat at the cabinet table and influence national policy.
He cannot have it both ways, especially with Roget and some other MSJ members continuing to remain opposed to meaningful dialogue.
And the real question is this: Does the OWTU really want to resolve the issues raised by the MSJ or does it want only to bring down the government by using the MSJ as an excuse to achieve its agenda?
The OWTU alone is not the MSJ although Roget seems to have taken it upon himself to be the voice of the party. Unlike his labour colleague Vincent Cabrera who has talked openly about forming a labour party Roget’s obsession is with bringing down the government.
The MSJ can benefit the most from being a part of the governing structure and influencing state policy on more than labour issues. However, to do it, it must be prepared to work with its coalition partners in a spirit of compromise and consensus.
In reality, there is no MSJ MP in government. Mc Leod fought the 2010 election as a candidate of the UNC and therefore his leader is Kamla. She could easily tell Abdullah if the MSJ is unhappy and does not wish to work with the partnership it could leave.
David Abdullah finds himself in a rather awkward position. The MSJ leader is walking in big shoes inherited from Errol McLeod, the man who committed the MSJ to the partnership. And like Mc Leod he must find a balance between his dual role.
He is a Government Senator and leader of one of the five parties in the MSJ and also the general secretary of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), which is the labour body that is most vocal in its condemnation of the government.
The OWTU has already drawn a line in the sand. President General Ancel Roget is on record as saying he wants to bring down the government and has pledged to do what’s necessary to achieve that whenever the next election comes along. That leaves Abdullah little wiggle room to negotiate in good faith.
The question for Abdullah is whether he really wants to lead a labour party from outside the partnership that would not be able to win an election or whether he would find areas of compromise so that labour could still have a seat at the cabinet table and influence national policy.
He cannot have it both ways, especially with Roget and some other MSJ members continuing to remain opposed to meaningful dialogue.
And the real question is this: Does the OWTU really want to resolve the issues raised by the MSJ or does it want only to bring down the government by using the MSJ as an excuse to achieve its agenda?
The OWTU alone is not the MSJ although Roget seems to have taken it upon himself to be the voice of the party. Unlike his labour colleague Vincent Cabrera who has talked openly about forming a labour party Roget’s obsession is with bringing down the government.
The MSJ can benefit the most from being a part of the governing structure and influencing state policy on more than labour issues. However, to do it, it must be prepared to work with its coalition partners in a spirit of compromise and consensus.
In reality, there is no MSJ MP in government. Mc Leod fought the 2010 election as a candidate of the UNC and therefore his leader is Kamla. She could easily tell Abdullah if the MSJ is unhappy and does not wish to work with the partnership it could leave.
She won’t. That is not her style. And it is in conflict with her principles and her commitment to the people of Trinidad & Tobago.
That’s why she did not push aside COP. The partnership that she put together is the first political grouping in Trinidad & Tobago that truly represents all sectors and classes in the country. And no one should expect everything to be perfect. Kamla has said herself that one of the virtues of the partnership is that its leaders know how to argue and how to agree.
Each group has its own political philosophy and operates independently. No one was asked to unite into a single party. However there was enough common ground to bring them together for a single purpose.
That remains the most important issue today and when Abdullah sits down with his colleagues to discuss the MSJ’s demands he must do so with the understanding that Kamla must act both as the leader of the partnership and the Prime Minister of the country.
She must separate her dual responsibilities and where there is a conflict the needs of the country must take precedence over those of her political allies.
Kamla is committed to creating a new society with respect for each other and the preservation of human dignity, where the poorest have the same opportunity as the most affluent, where every family has a home, where no one goes hungry, where the entire community raises every child as its own, where every woman and every child and every elderly person is respected, where everyone who wants a job can acquire one, where people are rewarded and acknowledged in accordance with their respective contributions.
Hers is a vision of continuing service to the people. And that is not in conflict with labour or what the MSJ desires for those who support it.
She remains committed to end divisiveness and to celebrate Trinidad & Tobago’s diversity and rich heritage so that everyone can live together, dream dreams together and build a nation of equals.
Labour must understand that the electorate is today much wiser and more in tune with issues than it was 36 years ago when Trinidad & Tobago launched its first true labour party – the United Labour Front (ULF), led by the trio of Basdeo Panday, George Weekes and Raffique Shah.
That was a powerful movement that had mass support. But the support evaporated when voters had to make a choice between their labour representatives and the people they wanted in government.
The dysfunctional labour body of today is nothing close to the 1976 mass movement that failed to win popular electoral support. And Abdullah and Roget must understand that they face political annihilation if they try to turn the tables on the government.
Workers today need the same “bread, peace and justice” for which they fought in 1976 and they are still not prepared to hand their government to belligerent trade unionists who refuse to understand the difference between rhetoric and good governance.
Jai Parasram | Toronto, 20 April, 2012.
That’s why she did not push aside COP. The partnership that she put together is the first political grouping in Trinidad & Tobago that truly represents all sectors and classes in the country. And no one should expect everything to be perfect. Kamla has said herself that one of the virtues of the partnership is that its leaders know how to argue and how to agree.
Each group has its own political philosophy and operates independently. No one was asked to unite into a single party. However there was enough common ground to bring them together for a single purpose.
That remains the most important issue today and when Abdullah sits down with his colleagues to discuss the MSJ’s demands he must do so with the understanding that Kamla must act both as the leader of the partnership and the Prime Minister of the country.
She must separate her dual responsibilities and where there is a conflict the needs of the country must take precedence over those of her political allies.
Kamla is committed to creating a new society with respect for each other and the preservation of human dignity, where the poorest have the same opportunity as the most affluent, where every family has a home, where no one goes hungry, where the entire community raises every child as its own, where every woman and every child and every elderly person is respected, where everyone who wants a job can acquire one, where people are rewarded and acknowledged in accordance with their respective contributions.
Hers is a vision of continuing service to the people. And that is not in conflict with labour or what the MSJ desires for those who support it.
She remains committed to end divisiveness and to celebrate Trinidad & Tobago’s diversity and rich heritage so that everyone can live together, dream dreams together and build a nation of equals.
Labour must understand that the electorate is today much wiser and more in tune with issues than it was 36 years ago when Trinidad & Tobago launched its first true labour party – the United Labour Front (ULF), led by the trio of Basdeo Panday, George Weekes and Raffique Shah.
That was a powerful movement that had mass support. But the support evaporated when voters had to make a choice between their labour representatives and the people they wanted in government.
The dysfunctional labour body of today is nothing close to the 1976 mass movement that failed to win popular electoral support. And Abdullah and Roget must understand that they face political annihilation if they try to turn the tables on the government.
Workers today need the same “bread, peace and justice” for which they fought in 1976 and they are still not prepared to hand their government to belligerent trade unionists who refuse to understand the difference between rhetoric and good governance.
Jai Parasram | Toronto, 20 April, 2012.
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