Wanted: A Real Labour Movement

THE EDITOR: Last November, the Central Bank Governor spoke rejoicingly about the “long period of wage stability and industrial peace” enjoyed by the country. This, he said, had contributed to the country’s economic growth for which he credited trade unions for having “acted very responsibly.”

One month before, however, he was lamenting that this country is too resource rich to have so many living in poverty. The Governor’s comments are worthy of reflection as we move to mark the 66th Anniversary of the 1937 upheavals that began on June 19. According to one commentator, those events “rocked the British Empire to its foundations”. They were led by a labour movement that would not have earned the favourable comments of any Central Bank Governor. Indeed, in the 1930s the labour movement had no use for the kudos of Governors of any kind, nor should such statements be relished today. For what is the value of “wage stability and industrial peace” to the national community when 90 percent of the working population earns less than $4,000 a month, and tens of thousands are unemployed in this resource rich country.

Trinidad and Tobago has the distinction of being the world’s largest exporter of methanol. We are also the largest exporter of ammonia on the planet. This country has been described as the jewel in BP/Amoco International’s crown. So just who benefits from all of this. Certainly not the 22 percent officially defined as living below the pvoerty line. Strangely, an answer has been furnished by an unlikely source. Richard Farah, a local bsuinessman, last year criticised the policy of “allowing powerful foreign corporations sweetheart deals to exploit our petrochemical sector”, resulting in “a few crumbs for the people”. This is quite true. These gloablised energy corporations are reaping 49 times the return that accrues to this country from the exploitation of our own natural resources. It is so bad that even the World Bank, that bastion of imperialism, criticises the low level of taxes levied on these corporations. Just imagine that! Farah went further: “The distribution of wealth is skewed in favour of a select few.” Indeed it is. The incomes of local business magnates make the hefty $70,000 a month received by Petrotrin’s chairman look like pocket change.

In all this there is scarcely a comment from organised labour. No, they have been “acting responsibly.” Fact is, for more than a decade there has been no labour movement in Trinidad and Tobago. I am talking about more than just a few trade unions jealously defending their turf, and negotiating “a little extra” for their bargaining units. I am talking about a serious and necessary challenge to the way the national pie is currently distributed. Today that initiative has passed to, of all people, Arthur Lok Jack! I am talking about resistance to the impending IMF driven assault on pensions; and the mobilisation of the youth who have been hopelessly excluded from participation in the economic system. I am talking about a movement that would unite the employed, unemployed, self-employed, under-employed, atypically employed and the ex-employed — in short, the victims of unfair sharing.

Sixty six years after the glorious achievements of our grandparents, a vacuum exists where there was once a vibrant labour movement. That is why with all the wage stability and industrial peace, the UNDP can now note that in Trinidad and Tobago there are two economies: one of the rich and the other for the poor. Such is the vacuum, that commentary on the condition of the dispossessed now comes from Central Bankers, businessmen and external agencies. In the circumstances, the only proper way to commemorate the events of June 1937 is to build a movement that would continue the unfinished struggle for fair distribution of the national wealth. Such is not a task for trade union leaders who are busy acting responsibly. Instead, this imperative rests with the very victims of this unfair system. It is only when “ordinary people” appreciate that such a movement is their collective responsibility, that the vision of those patriots of 1937 will be realised.

TERRENCE REGIS
Trou Macaque