Sugar and politics

WHO is really playing politics with the restructuring of the country's oldest and most horrendous financial millstone, Caroni (1975) Ltd? If we are to accept the view of Rudy Indarsingh, leader of the sugar workers union, the culprit is the government through its Agriculture Minister John Rahael. Ironically, however, it was Mr Indarsingh and some members of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union who effectively prevented the Minister from answering the questions and concerns of sugar workers when he met them at Couva on Thursday.

Who was playing politics then?
Instead of letting the Minister fulfill the purpose of the meeting he had called to answer sugar workers' queries regarding the Government's VSEP offer, Mr Indarsingh, acting out an apparent pre-planned strategy, raised objections to one of the Minister's replies which provoked such a vehement shouting match that Mr Rahael had to be escorted out of the building when the meeting broke up in a chaotic uproar.

Who was playing politics then?
When one woman asked whether she would be able to obtain a housing loan from Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance after accepting VSEP, the Minister expressed the hope that she would be working by that time. This reply provoked an angry response from some workers and Mr Indarsingh then seized the opportunity to attack the Government, accusing the Minister of coming "to fool sugar workers." He went so far as to demand an apology (for what?) from the Minister.

Who was playing politics then?
The union leader accused Mr Rahael of bringing CEPEP workers to the meeting which he saw as "an attempt by the Minister to use party supporters, who are not members of the union or employees of Caroni to drown out the concerns of sugar workers." However, he did not see the need to explain why the Minister would bring outside people to upset his own meeting and so defeat his own purpose.

Who was playing politics then?
Mr Indarsingh went on: "I have told people this is about raw politics; they are using CEPEP workers to take over a sugar workers meeting. I have to take the stance of Ramnath. I cannot guarantee the safety of them in Central Trinidad."

Who is playing politics now?
Who, in fact, is whipping up the emotions of sugar workers and issuing dangerous threats against the government? Who, in responding to age-old instincts, is performing true to the tradition of political conflict in the sugar belt?

The relentless opposition of the ATSGWTU to the VSEP offer is understandable — every worker accepting it is one less member of the union and already 1,500 have taken it — but the campaign must still be considered as tragic. It reveals a determination not to come to terms with the monumental economic burden that the outdated and deficit-ridden sugar manufacturing operation has become and the long overdue necessity to rationalise it. The notorious liability of Caroni has serious implications for TT not only because of the vast amount of money it loses every year but also in respect of our relations with international lending agencies. It is an absurdity, in our view, to accuse the Government of playing politics in undertaking an inescapable economic responsibility. The charge is also grossly ironical in light of the plan by the former UNC regime to shut down the sugar industry.