PM says ‘objective achieved’ in visit to strike camp

Although unsuccessful in persuading workers to go back  to work, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday he achieved his objective - which was to let the workers know that the strike was hurting the national interest. He asked that they demonstrate compromise. “I went for one purpose -  to ask the workers to demonstrate a greater measure of compromise. Also to let them know that I believe the strike was not in the national interest and it was starting to hurt the national interest. As a result, it was in everybody’s interest for it to be brought to an end expeditiously. “I achieved that...I was able to do that quite successfully,” Manning stated. He was speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference yesterday.

Told that the workers rejected his request and advice, Manning replied : “You cannot say that. We don’t know if the strike would be resolved tomorrow or today, or next week. Only time would tell whether it was rejected or not.” On the issue of intimidation of  workers who want to return to work but were deterred by the threats of the striking workers, Manning said Government would discharge its responsibility to provide protection for those who needed it, to the best of its ability. He said Government’s policy was clear — “that if anybody wanted to go to work, Government had a responsibility to create the environment that would facilitate that.” The Prime Minister did not agree “at all” with the assertion that the workers as a body jeered at him and his delegation. “There was an individual or two who would have made a snide remark as you would expect...I expected all of that,” he said.

On statements that the PNM would not win an election in Point Fortin, Manning said he had passed that way before. “Elections are not constitutionally due until 2007 and I am sure the people, not only of Point Fortin but the whole country, will have an opportunity to pass judgement on the PNM,” he said, adding that only time would tell. He added that he felt confident about getting the support of the whole of Trinidad and Tobago. Pointing out that that comment was made by one individual, Manning said there were different shades of opinion in this democracy and the real greatness of this society was that people were free to express those opinions.

Manning, who would attend next week’s hemispheric  energy conference hosted by TT in Tobago, said Government would continue to assure US authorities that TT was  indeed a secure and reliable supplier of LNG and that “they can continue to count on us in that regard.” Asked whether he felt the strike would jeopardise any negotiations Government would have with investors for the establishment of plants in the future, Manning said he didn’t think so. However he conceded that the strike had “not put the best face” on Trinidad and Tobago at a time when a major marketing effort was aimed at  selling TT as a stable democracy and strategic location.

Asked if he regretted making a campaign promise for a sectoral minimum wage , Manning said it was done on the best information available at the particular time. He stressed that a sectoral minumum wage was still a “very desirable goal.” “But how that is to be implemented is something that has to be carefully thought through,” he said. The Prime Minister said he was optimistic that innovative approaches by Atlantic LNG would allow it to recoup all the ten weeks in lost time during this strike and that the company would still meet its deadline for finishing off Train IV. Manning announced that  Train V would be located on the Union Estate in La Brea. Shortly after the news conference, the PNM issued a release stating that contrary to media reports, “the discussions held between the Prime Minister and the workers were respectful, cordial and constructive.”