Workers have the right to protest

THE EDITOR: On March 8, 2004 the Editorial of the Newsday focused on the strike by the workers on the construction of Train Four of the Atlantic LNG. The Editorial mentioned that the government may add the word “construction” to the category of Essential Industries under the Industrial Relations Act of 1972. Also it added that the government may amend the IRA to obtain a court order restraining the workers from continuing strike action. However the workers are not from a Trade Union or part of a bargaining unit. If the government does amend the IRA to allow for a stop order, it would do so based on national interest.’

One has to question the motives of the government. Is amending the IRA for this purpose in the nation’s interest or in the interest of the foreign multinational corporations? The workers in Point Fortin have a right to down tools if they think they are being underpaid and exploited. The IRA which is supposed to regulate the industrial relations system is now simply a tool used by the government to restrict workers’ rights. If construction workers are added to the list of Essential Industries under the IRA, what category of workers will next be prohibited from taking strike action? The only winners will be the international multinational corporations who continue to syphon off our national wealth while our poor workers live off crumbs. There are four actors in the industrial relations system. These are the state, management, workers and the general public. Yet the workers who are the real producers of the nation’s wealth have not been consulted by the state.

The Industrial Relations Act of 1972 which replaced the Industrial Stabilisation Act of 1965 created an imbalance of power between the trade unions and those who really wield power. By creating a list of “Essential Industries”, the then government blocked any attempts by the trade unions from shutting down crucial industries like oil and gas and also from further toppling any government. Trade unions are mass working class organisations and when this Act was enacted power was taken from working people and placed in the hands of the state. This present government is apparently continuing in the anti-worker offensive of previous governments. Genuine democracy, then does not exist.

There is no economic freedom because all the economic power lies in the hands of the local and international capitalist fat cats. There is also no industrial democracy. All the power, because of restrictive legislation lies in the hands of the state and management. Our comrades who are fighting exploitation in Point Fortin must be supported by the national community. If this present situation continues the industrial relations climate will become stormy and even violent.

RAPHAEL  JOHN  LALL
Erin
More letters on pages 12; 14-17 Section B