Roget: PM is naive

“He was well aware of the problems within NTAC,” Roget told reporters during an interview outside Tower C of the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Centre.

However, Roget was not totally dismissive of the Prime Minister’s call for dialogue.

“We are committed to dialogue and tripartism,” he said.

However, Roget stressed for dialogue to be successful, labour must sit at the table “as an equal to the other partners.” Roget said the issue in the economic circumstances facing the country was, “How do we really reset the clock in terms of the sharing of the burden of adjustment?” He said JTUM would not accept holding discussions with Government and the business community, while workers were being sent home. Roget did not think NTAC was a failed experiment.

However, he believed Government “did not live up to its responsibility” when NTAC was launched last March.

Roget said the labour movement’s call last Friday to Rowley for a meeting in two weeks time, remained on the table. Asked what labour would do if Rowley did not heed that call, Roget quipped, “Stay tuned and fasten your seat belts.”