UNC has labour unrest remedy

THE OPPOSITION UNC yesterday claimed that it had the remedy for the labour unrest illness currently affecting Trinidad and Tobago. In a statement, the UNC alleged that while  it was in government, it had prepared a Basic Conditions of Work and Minimum Wage Bill which would have addressed the special concerns of skilled contract workers such as those at Atlantic LNG (ALNG) Train Four who are not unionised. The Opposition further alleged that the PNM refused to bring this Bill to Parliament “and is now reaping the whirlwind.”

The UNC accused Prime Minister Patrick Manning of reneging on an election promise of a sectoral minimum wage of $28 an hour for ALNG workers. “He made this promise knowing full well that only the Minimum Wage Board (MWB) has the power to do so. “We condemn Mr Manning for not only usurping the functions of the MWB but reneging on his election promise to the workers,” the Opposition declared. The UNC also claimed that the Government used the security forces to intimidate striking workers at the ALNG Train Four construction site yesterday.