As political parties gear up for next year’s general election, president general of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget says there will be no honeymoon for the next government unless labour issues are addressed. Despite the union’s history of campaigning for and against political parties in previous elections, Roget said the OWTU would not be endorsing any particular party as it did with the People’s Partnership in 2010.
As the union plans action to stamp out contract labour in T&T, he said it had already written to the People’s National Movement, the Independent Liberal Party and the Movement for Social Justice, calling on them to state their positions on workers’ rights. However, he omitted the People’s Partnership from discussions, saying it had promised to provide decent working conditions in its 2010 manifesto but had since trampled on workers’ rights.
He said the letters should have reached the political parties by today and the union was awaiting the responses. Roget sent the messages at the Joint Trade Union Movement’s (JTUM) Day of Action to Spot Precarious Work seminar at Paramount Building, San Fernando. It was one of several events being taken worldwide by members of the Industrial Global Union as they recognised yesterday as World Day for Decent Work.
The union's intention was to address contract labour, health and safety issues at the workplace and job insecurity in T&T. In his opening remarks, Roget recalled that in 2010, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, then opposition leader, came to the OWTU office, asking for the union’s support in the general election. He said after taking office, Persad-Bissessar backtracked on her promise to implement the workers’ agenda and waged an attack against trade unions.
Saying the union would not be tricked again, he added: “That experience over the years, in particular over the last four years, has taught us a lesson and although I am not at liberty to say what procedures will be put in place, rest assured that it will be quite different from previous years. “The colossal response to any kind of retraction or any reneging on their position will be met with immediate force very early in their term of office, whoever it is.
“There shall be no honeymoon at all for anyone because our position is that these issues are urgent and they ought to be addressed. “We were neglected by the People’s Partnership and anybody seeking to govern this country ought to listen to and articulate their position on the workers' agenda and that is what we are about.”
Against contract work
Focusing on contract work, Roget said many employers were opting to hire workers on contract instead of permanent positions in order to relieve themselves from having to pay benefits. He said some workers were even being fooled into leaving their jobs in the public service to take up contract positions.
That, he said, led to employers violating workers’ rights and collective agreements, meaning that workers were not being afforded job security. In one instance, he said, a worker had been on a month-to-month contract for the past nine years and cannot even go to the bank for a loan.