PM meets MTS protesters

The union was only partially successful.

Several trade unions were admitted to the premises of Whitehall to supposedly meet Manning after his weekly meeting of Cabinet.

TIWU, as the union representing MTS workers, was yesterday joined by the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), Bank and General Workers Union, National Union of Government and Federated Workers, the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU), Postal Worker’s Union, and activist Clive Nunez.

NATUC president, Robert Giuseppi, said the unions were supporting the TIWU which seemed to be hitting its head against a wall in trying to meet MTS management. But the trade unionists only got to see Manning’s advisors.

According to reports, however, as Manning left Whitehall, he gave in to requests to briefly meet representatives of some 100-plus TIWU members loudly protesting opposite Whitehall.

Speaking to Newsday inside Whitehall, TIWU president, Aldwin Brewster, recalled former minister of works, Franklin Khan, saying MTS was to be restructured so that its employees would be offered work as "contractors."

Brewster said, "The Prime Minister has said the time has come for MTS to go the way of CEPEP, the CEPEP model. But MTS is a unionised environment, so when you break it into small pieces what are the terms and conditions under which people will be working?"

He said the union welcomed Government sorting out any management problems the company had, otherwise MTS must stay as it is.

"But we are totally opposed to the Government taking citizens and putting them to work under those conditions — minimum wage of nine dollars per hour, and no vacation."

He noted that while the Government was trying to dismantle the MTS, at the same time it was creating other State companies to do the work of the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Education.

Brewster concluded, "People must have sustainable jobs. CEPEP is not about human development at all."

TIWU second vice-president, Darren Samuel, was also worried about what he said was a trend of governmental action towards Caroni (1975) Ltd, NBN, TSTT, the Port Authority, and BWIA.

"They offer VSEP, form another company, and hire people to do contract work, so that there is no trade union in that new company. We are looking at unions being displaced by a calculated move by the formation of a new company. But we are saying ‘Not MTS.’"