Truth about issues raised by Indarsingh

I believe these statements are deliberately deceptive and take the opportunity to bring the clarity and truth that these issues so rightfully deserve.

The data from the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development’s National Unemployment Register indicates that for the period September 2015 to June there has been 2,630 reported cases of people who have been retrenched. This is a far cry from Indarsingh’s outrageous and unsubstantiated figure of 25,000. In this regard, I call upon Indarsingh to cite the source of his fabricated figures.

It is disingenuous, to say the least, for Indarsingh to make a call “… for Government to lay in Parliament amendments to the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act” when he is aware that to date there are four draft policy position papers before Cabinet for its consideration. These documents include the Amendment of the Industrial Relations Act Chapter 88:01; the Retrenchment and Severance Benefit Act Chapter 88:13; the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies Act Chapter 39:51, and the National Cooperative Policy.

I feel compelled to point out that over the last 50 years, there has not been a concentrated effort to address our antiquated and archaic labour laws and certainly not during the period 2010-2015 when Indarsingh was a minister in the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development.

However, this administration, in keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding with the labour movement, decided to address the updating of our antiquated labour laws and there is now an aggressive thrust to do so.

The process of amending legislation can often be long and arduous but to date we have achieved far more than any effort in the recent past and we are far from finished.

I also take this opportunity to remind the Opposition MP that there was a time in my career when I fought diligently and steadfastly for those under my charge as the head of one of the larger trade unions in this country. Today, I fight with the same conviction to represent the interest of all with equal fervour. I hold no sectoral interests, I represent the citizens of TT , employer and worker alike and there cannot be a partisan approach to genuine representation.

I invite Indarsingh and any member of the public to contact the ministry’s National Employment Services offices to enquire about our Adversity to Opportunity (A2O) Plan, also called “The Ten-Point Plan.” Through this plan, members of the public who have been retrenched and are experiencing the psycho-social effects of retrenchment can receive the support they need.

In closing, permit me to state that the media have a herculean task to find the balance in any issue as they seek to fulfil part of their mandate to inform and sensitise the public. I have always indicated my availability to your esteemed media house and remain available to bring clarity to any matter on which I have the authority to speak.

JENNIFER BAPTISTEPRIMUS Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development