Unions aligning with political parties

THE EDITOR: The appeals for local labour unity must emanate from the rank and file of the trade unions and working class organisations. Union members cannot continue to blindly follow myopic leaders who lack the vision and ignore the importance of a united working class movement. The general membership of unions should not be submissive and limit their roles to paying monthly or weekly dues and hope that collective bargaining will ensure their continued welfare.

Obviously, union leaders are of the firm opinion that utmost priority should be given to their financial perks and preserving their position as President, rather than fostering working class unity. Neither the size of a union nor its longevity entitles it to represent the country’s working class. There is a dire need for one body or organisation to represent the voice of labour in Trinidad and Tobago. If past activists and leaders of the 1930s were alive today, they would be terribly disappointed to witness the serious schisms plaguing the labour movement. Labour leaders and activists such as CLR James, TUB Butler, Elma Francois, Jim Barrette, Albert Gomes and Quintin O’Connor would have surely intervened to heal the crippling rift between the two umbrella bodies which claim to represent labour. During the past few months, major upheavals occurred which affected the lives of thousands. Once again, Caroni Limited has become a political football in which the fate of sugar workers is determined by men who have little or no interest in the working class or agriculture. It’s extremely strange that the government could not assist Caroni, but quickly found money to bail out BWIA.

It seems that there is an attempt to victimise certain unions, a segment of the population or companies that are not supporters of the government. The impasse involving doctors is yet another incident of pathetic leadership. Once again, the country wonders why the doctors did not receive their demand for a salary increase but money was easily found for the much maligned CEPEP programme in which workers are apparently exploited. Other unions must ask themselves, if teachers decide to strike, would teachers be imported from another country to fill vacancies? Or if civil servants decide to protest, would they be replaced by foreign workers? Unions must not be oblivious to the strategy of the ruling political party to offer senatorial posts or positions of authority in an attempt to win the support of a certain union. This “divide and rule” policy has been successfully utilised to rip into the heart of the country’s labour movement.

In this country, unions appear to be supporting or aligning themselves to one of the two major political parties. The disunity in the labour movement is further complicated by religious bickering and racial polarisation between Indo-Trinidadians and Afro-Trinidadians. Interestingly, at the first anniversary of the riots in 1938, Butler’s message was addressed to “Afro-West Indian and East Indian workers of Trinidad and Tobago”. If we are ever to rise from a Third World status we must ignore the ranting and pathetic outpourings of divisive political and union leaders. Only when there is genuine unity within the working class can the slogan “Let those who labour hold the reins” be realised.

JEROME TEELUCKSINGH
Chaguanas