Govt must stand up for LNG workers

THE EDITOR: Please permit me the space to express my disgust at the way some people tend to view construction workers, especially those on the picket line at Atlantic LNG. Ever since the workers took decisive action in defence of just and fair wages for construction workers, there has been a stream of negative comments from leading members of the business sector and from Government apologists. These hypocritical, money-grabbing exploiters of workers only hear what they want to hear and turn a conveniently deaf ear to anything that does not satisfy their “cravacious” interests.

They heard Cro Cro, loud and clear, when he sang “Kidnap Them.” But they pretend not to have heard Brian London’s “Freedom Road.” The construction workers are citizens of this country, not imported indenturers, as some would have us believe. They are entitled to a just and decent wage on a par with that paid in the related industry. The wealth of this country is for the comfort and enjoyment of all its citizens and not just the greedy and avaricious few. So let’s get real and stop this stupid old talk about construction workers’ wage demands causing inflation. Politricks are being played with the PNM’s promise on the hustings with talk that they have five years to implement. That’s pussyfooting!  The workers are not convinced. A promise is still a comfort to a fool and this is the age of enlightenment. Cheap labour in heavy construction is a thing of the past. The quicker the employer comes to terms the more stable and productive the industrial climate would become.

The going minimum rate in industry today is $35 to $40 per hour. Check Petrotrin, Point Lisas, Hydro Agri etc. Hence the minimum rate that the ALNG workers are asking the Government to legislate is way too low. It only shows what desperation can cause. Is it not the duty of Government to protect its citizens and the interests of its citizens from all forms of exploitation, especially from external forces of exploitation and aggression? It is the duty of the Government to advise the principal contractor in charge of constructing and delivering the plant to sit down with the workers (and their legitimate bargaining agents, if any) to negotiate proper wages, which means the going rates in the comparative industry. Under the present system, the contractor is not duty bound to pay nor the workers to go back to work until they are satisfied that they are given just dues. If the situation is having a negative effect on the economy, then the Government must warn the contractor about his attitude and actions in the name of exorbitant and obscene profits. No company or individual must come into our country and make us uncomfortable or destabilise our social situation. If they do so the Government must ensure that they leave.

The contractor’s enormous profits go back to his country. The small money that the construction workers risk life and limb for stays here to build the national economy. This is reason enough for the PM to stop listening to all those who claim to be concerned about inflation, when, in fact, they are motivated by pure greed. This same greed is what is causing the atmosphere of ill will and disaffection between workers and employers. Like it or not, we all live in a one room kitchenette and when the tea kettle blows up everybody gets burned, including those on the top bunk! All construction workers are asking for are fair and just wages consistent with the going wage in the comparative industry. They want decent fringe benefits and a safe working environment.

Is that so hard to understand? In return top class work, delivered within time and under budget, as has been the norm in TT over the years. They must stop mucking up because we walking down freedom road leaving them chains and we not going back again. Government must never, for one moment, forget whose interest they were elected to serve. History has too many casualties of those who forget. Why must some people feel that they should have their piece of the pie immediately while the average worker should wait to receive his some time on the road toward 2020? To the brothers on the picket lines — stay strong and the most high will break down the stony heart of this modern day Pharaoh who is demanding more bricks and giving less grain. Blessings!

MICHAEL JOSEPH (Bro Scobie)
Marabella