AN application filed by the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU) on the VSEP for Caroni (1975) Limited workers will be heard in the Industrial Court today at 9 am.
In a statement yesterday the union said pursuant to Section 84 of the Industrial Relations Act, Chap. 88 for Orders, it filed the application in respect of the failure of Caroni to recognise it as the recognised majority union of the daily paid employees and/or in good faith to treat and enter into negotiations with it for the purposes of collective bargaining. The ATSGWTU claimed Caroni developed and implemented a VSEP without obtaining the agreement of the union and despite the union’s expressed disapproval. The union further alleged that the company has refused its request to provide details for Caroni’s restructuring. Attorneys Douglas Mendes, Dave Cowie and Ashvani Mahabir will represent the ATSGWTU. On Tuesday, 2,500 sugar workers signed a petition in support of legal action by former Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj against the Caroni VSEP.
GOVERNMENT is prepared to guarantee loans made by the Caribbean Development Bank to shareholder governments of LIAT up to an aggregate amount of EC $12.5 million (TT30 million), Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ken Valley said yesterday.
This is the decision taken at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday which discussed what could be done to save the cash-strapped regional carrier. Valley said Government was not prepared to give LIAT money directly. At least, not until the Steering Committee, led by Ken Gordon and charged with the responsibility for examining the future of the regional airline industry, prepared its findings. “Until the committee reports, there would be no more direct funding to either LIAT or BWIA,” he said. The Steering Committee is considering a proposal to merge LIAT, BWIA and Air Jamaica into one regional airline. Asked whether government, which owns just one per cent of LIAT, was favouring the regional carrier over national airline BWIA, Valley was emphatic: “No, we are not, we cannot and will not.”
LIAT requires an immediate injection of US $935,000 or it is likely that creditors would seize five of its ten aircraft. But sources stated that the regional airline really needed EC $25 million to take care of its major current debts. The airline’s total indebtedness is EC $100 million. Just last year, the Caricom heads decided to bail out LIAT to the tune of EC $11 million (TT $22 million), 40 percent of which was to be guaranteed by the Trinidad and Tobago government. The more recent decision of Trinidad and Tobago comes in the wake of a meeting between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves on the issue of LIAT.
THE recent firing of Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) chief executive officer Seebalack Singh, for his refusal to sanction the bank’s $4.5 million investment in CLICO became the subject of a High Court hearing on Wednesday.
In an application for judicial review of the ADB board’s decision to fire him on January 23, Singh contended that he opposed the million dollar investment because it was contrary to the laws governing the functioning of the ADB. When the case was called yesterday in the San Fernando High Court, Justice David Myers heard allegations of victimization by the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) against Singh. The allegation was made by Singh’s attorney Dr Fenton Ramsahoye QC, who submitted that Singh’s dismissal was a case of political corruption. “And Singh was fired for trying to prevent the corruption and for refusing to participate in it,” Ramsahoye, who is leading attorney Anand Ramlogan, told the judge.
In his application for judicial review, Singh said a new ADB board was appointed on June 2002. At a board meeting in October, a decision was taken to invest the money because Clico was offering the highest rate of return at the time. Singh said he pointed out to the new board chairman that the previous board had withdrawn an investment with CLICO due to the fact that the Auditor General had criticised the investment. Despite this advice, Singh said, the board instructed him to meet with one of the ADB’s directors with a view to implementing the decision. Singh pointed out that a particular board member was also a CLICO sales representative and that member was present at the meeting when the decision was taken to invest. “I expressed concern about investing the bank’s money in an insurance company and in particular, in any life insurance product,” he said. Singh referred to the Auditor General’s report and Ministry of Finance’s criticisms of investing in CLICO’s life insurance products.
Singh said he was instructed by ADB chairman Hubert Alleyne to give the $4.5 million cheque to the director. He did so. Singh said a legal opinion was sought and the ADB was advised that the investment was illegal. Singh said on November 20, 2002, he was instructed by Alleyne to proceed on annual vacation leave with immediate effect “to facilitate an investigation into my alleged failure to implement the decision of the board”. On December 27, Singh was informed by the board that he neglected his duty as CEO when he failed to implement the board’s decision. He subsequently received a letter terminating his contract. Singh is contending that the decision to terminate him was conducted in bad faith for the improper purpose of making an illegal investment. The case comes up for hearing again on April 16.
LEADER OF the Opposition in the Senate Wade Mark, has dubbed Prime Minister Patrick Manning a hypocrite over Caroni (1975) Limited, charging that since moving from Opposition to Government Manning had changed his tune on the controversy.
Mark was moving a motion on the adjournment of the Upper House on Tuesday evening when he declared: “The evil, insensitive PNM regime has taken a unilateral decision to close Caroni. The unilateral, ‘unconsultative’, dictatorial PNM regime has limited sugar production to 75,000 – 80,000 tonnes per year to be processed in Usine Ste Madeiline, while Brechin Castle is to be closed”. He then read out a 1999 address by Manning, then Leader of the Opposition, to the annual PNM Convention, recalling Manning saying: “The present (UNC) government is proposing to get rid of Caroni (1975) Limited altogether. Sixty thousand citizens depend on Caroni for their survival. The social implications are too tremendous to contemplate. The PNM opposes this approach”.
Mark hit Manning, saying: “Now the Prime Minister is singing a different tune. What a hypocrite and a total disappointment!” He accused the Government of establishing its position by way of media advertisements and talk shows, instead of talking with sugar workers’ representatives. Mark added: “This is the first time the State has chosen not to negotiate with the majority union but to communicate through the media and at public meetings…It is laying the basis for social unrest and industrial instability in the country.”
Mark cautioned that Caroni was not just an industry but a way of life, and not just an industrial problem but a human problem. “Rahael is wreaking havoc. The land-grabbing has already started — their friends and family. Where’s the comprehensive plan for Caroni (1975) Limited, or is this just a plan to destroy the union?” Mark claimed that Minister of Public Administration Dr Lenny Saith had told sugar workers he wanted to break the UNC-aligned All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU). At that, Saith rose to sternly retort: “I deny I have ever said such a thing to any sugar worker in this country.” An ebullient Mark confidently hit back: “I’ll bring the proof, the workers who were there.”
Recalling the government justifying the restructuring of Caroni because it had a $2 billion debt, Mark asked if the government would also close down WASA for its $10 billion debt.
Noting the government wanted to allocate $500 million to CEPEP and even $36 million to bail out LIAT, Mark asked: “What about the 300,000 people relying directly or indirectly on Caroni? What about their children? What about the crime that will result from such closure? “We serve notice that the UNC will embark on a policy and strategy of non-cooperation inside and outside of Parliament. We’ll support no legislation brought to this Parliament until the PNM talks on Caroni”. Visiting from the Lower House, Minister of Agriculture John Rahael denied Mark’s charges.
Rahael said since 1978 many reports had concluded that Caroni needed to be restructured. “What we are doing is no different to what is in the reports.” Denying that government had ignored the sugar unions, Rahael said: “On Friday 28 June 2002, Ken Valley and I met the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union and outlined the government’s plan to restructure Caroni. “The president of the union signed that the minutes were accurate. We offered the union to fund a consultant at a cost of $100,000. We asked the union to submit any suggestions or proposals … We talked about VSEP, industrial parks, housing parks and agricultural parks”. He said from June 2002 to January 2003 he had held many meetings with the ATSGWTU and the Employers’ Consultative Association (ECA). Rahael said the government had increased the proposed VSEP by amounts ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent of what retrenched workers were entitled.
He said: “We are creating entrepreneurs in Central Trinidad, moving cane-workers to become farmers, not just in cane but in food products, like citrus, rice and beef. They will have the first option to lease lands and become farmers in their own right.” Rahael said he had met many South and Central chambers of commerce, saying: “They are all very excited. I’m advising Senator Mark now he should invest in Central Trinidad.” Rahael envisioned: “Subdivide 3,300 acres of citrus into lots each of 12 acres of land — that will be 300 farmers! 6,000 acres for food production divided into 500 acre lots will give you 1,200 farmers. There’ll be a boom in Central Trinidad! We’ll increase production in agriculture. We are making people independent.” Mark interrupted: “But you are retrenching 10,000 workers!” Rahael continued, only to face more jibes from Mark. Lenny Saith admonished Mark: “Can I appeal to you can we have some decorum? This is not a fish market.” Mark continued: “10,000 people are going home. We are very emotional about this issue”.
THE EDITOR: Kindly allow me to appeal to the relevant authority who is responsible for granting a licence to the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation for the establishment of a radio station.
These proposals have been sitting in one of your cabinets for a very long time. It would appear to me that it is a cause of out of sight out of mind. In light of the present radio stations not playing more of local music, TUCO has decided to take up the challenge to address the above situation, by the establishment of its own radio station. This station project will also provide a positive income for our organisation as we work consistently to become self reliant and self sufficient. In addition to the above, the project will address in a very meaningful way, the lack of community education in areas of History, Social Studies, Lan-guage/Literature and Folk Traditions of the regions. I therefore kindly request that the authorities stop sticking and have the TUCO proposals on their desks for positive action as soon as possible.
Please allow history to absolve you, sirs/madams.
Yours in culture.
ELTON SCANTLEBURY
Upper St Francois Valley Road
THE EDITOR: It is most interesting that the Prime Minister used the word governance in justifying the move of his office to the Red House. It would appear that he is unaware that an essential ingredient of good governance is the meaningful participation of civil society in national decision-making.
In October 2001, at a multi-stakeholder workshop to prepare the National Report for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, a wide cross-section of the citizenry identified governance and democracy as the most critical national issue. The draft National Report generated by the workshop had this to say about governance: “The people of Trinidad and Tobago are becoming increasingly vocal about governance and democracy, insisting that the framework of political, legal, social and economic systems, processes and institutions must facilitate the inclusion of civil society in developmental decision-making…”
Trinidad and Tobago is classified as a parliamentary democracy, with an electoral process that regulates changeover of Governments. However, being a former colony, it inherited a top-down, centralised form of government that is not readily open to involvement of citizens in their own governance between elections… While civil society has welcomed increasing public consultation and participation, they are not completely satisfied. They view the consultations as being sporadic, inconsistent and superficial with little feedback on their input. They view themselves to be engaged in a reactive fashion and unable to make a true contribution to the decision-making process. They perceive the process to be largely politically driven with insufficient commitment to the ideals of transparency, consultation and participation.”
That language, calling for more citizen involvement and less Cabinet dictatorship in governance, never made it into the final National Report that was laid in Johannesburg, for the PNM Government struck it out. It is no surprise, therefore, to see the Prime Minister and his Cabinet acting true to form in riding roughshod over civil society and handing down to the citizenry their unilateral decision to move the Parliament out of the Red House. Spurred on by the love of good governance and democracy, the Red House petitioners are reacting to this decision. They are calling for more dialogue with proponents of different points of view in the interest of society as a whole. They have a legitimate concern and are insulted when this concern is dismissed as mere brouhaha. Prime Ministers may come and go but Parliament endures. The transient must only be allowed to tinker with the permanent by leave of the people.
EDEN A SHAND
Former Member of Parliament
THE EDITOR: For the benefit of a gentleman who wrote recently condemning Nelson Mandela’s criticism of the US declaration of war against Iraq, wherein, he chastised Mandela for being ungrateful, because of what he termed “the US efforts to thwart apartheid in South Africa which led to Mandela’s release from prison.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
For his information, here is a list of resolutions which were vetoed by the US with respect to resolutions which the UN sought to pass over the years with respect to South Africa’s racist policies: 1979 A call for an end to all military and nuclear collaboration with the apartheid South Africa. 1979 A call to strengthen the arms embargo against South Africa. 1979 Offer of assistance to all the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movement. 1981 Condemn South Africa for attacks on neighbouring states, condemn apartheid and attempts to strengthen sanctions (seven resolutions). 1981 Condemn an attempted coup by South Africa on the Seychelles.
1982 Condemn apartheid and call for the cessation of economic aid to South Africa (four resolutions). 1984 International action to eliminate apartheid. 1986 Impose economic and military sanctions against South Africa. Incidentally, the following may be of interest to him. During the eighties, the UN was concerned with Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons. On March 21, 1986, almost exactly 17 years ago, the Security Council President, speaking on behalf of the Security Council, stated that the Council members were profoundly concerned by the unanimous conclusion of the specialists that chemical weapons on many occasions were being used by Iraqi forces against Iranian troops….(and) the members of the Council strongly condemn this continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 which prohibits the use in war of chemical weapons (S/17911 and Add 1, March 21, 1986. The United States voted against the issuance of this statement. What hypocrisy!
D JOHNSON
Cascade
THE EDITOR: Policemen continue to ignore real crime and offenders. Don’t get me wrong at all, not all policemen do that, just those few who like to abuse their power.
I’m a person who does not own a vehicle, so I rely on public transportation. Maxi taxis travelling the Chaguanas-Curepe route always have to go to Curepe. I was walking along the pavement when a maxi taxi had stopped to pick up passengers. A police car coming behind the vehicle ordered the passengers out and the driver of the said maxi taxi to leave and not return. I was astonished. He was in no violation. He did not park in the middle of the road, he had his indicator lights on and he was not at the maxi taxi restriction sign.
Another incident was at Chin Chin Junction at Cunupia, which those familiar with the area would know how busy it is at times. A person had stopped, I’m not sure if he had parked in the middle of the road, got out and did not return until more than 10 minutes later. This in turn caused a traffic pile up. The driver was aware of the situation, but he had thought it was more important to talk to a girl across the street. The point of the story? The police station was about five to ten metres away, hardly a stroll. Yet they never realised the traffic. But let any maxi taxi or taxi stop at the side to pick up passengers, they would have checked every document, person and still give a lecture to the inconvenience to us, the passengers. These are just two instances. There are many, but these are the most recent to me.
Policemen usually pick on particular maxi taxi men and taxi men to point out all their wrongs. Even stop them to give them a ticket for a simple thing as no bins when some maxis have neither a fire extinguisher or a working emergency exit and a whole lot more violations. PH taxis working along the Chaguanas-Chin Chin Road route is the best example of police ignorance. I’m not sure if it’s legal to work taxi without receiving a taxi badge or even with a PH car. But why should people who spent their money to receive a taxi badge and licensed their cars or maxis to ‘H’ be allowed to work anyway. It seems that they are just stealing people’s livelihood because they want to make some ‘easy money, if that’s what they call it. It should become compulsory, if it’s not, for them to have both the ‘H’ licence and taxi badge. This will cut back in a lot of illegalities in the traffic sector.
Many people would say maxi taxi drivers are bad drivers and are a reckless bunch of people. If passengers are to be dropped off, these vehicles are required to stop. It’s those who refuse to put on their indicators who are wrong. Maxi drivers do have a bad reputation, but should that be a reason to victimise them for doing their job. Policemen need to focus on the real traffic crime violators, not the ‘small crime,’ such as no garbage bin, or the drivers whom they don’t like. These officers need to get in touch with their jobs.
MELISSA
BRIDGEMOHAN
Chin Chin Road
Cunupia
THE EDITOR: Please allow me a space in our newspaper to air my grievances with the result of the recently held Dimanche Gras Calypso Monarch results. I watched the show from the beginning and was extremely disappointed with the judges’ decision to award Singing Sandra the crown.
I have nothing against Sandra but tears came to my eyes because Roger George was clearly the winner there that night. He gave such a moving performance and for him not to win, hit me so hard that I cried for the balance of the night. Up to this present time I can’t even talk about that because I always end up crying. I so love that song (These are the Days). Hats off to Roger because it is one of the best songs for this season. I really wanted you to win that crown but keep on doing your best and one day you will win.
A CLARKE
Tobago
THE EDITOR: Abortion is legal in Trinidad and Tobago. Ms Jacqueline Allamani’s opposition to abortion law reform is misleading (Newsday March 14). The question that ASPIRE has raised with the government is the need to expand the grounds for legal abortion.
One of the myths fuelled by the anti-choice brigade is the notion of a ‘silent cry’ from the womb. The silence that is truly deafening is our deafness to the suffering of 4,000 poor women who enter our public hospitals every year as a result of botched abortions. There are no fewer than 15,000 abortions in Trinidad and Tobago annually. This debate is not about abortion — for our criminal law has not prevented abortions. Our law has merely made them dangerous for poor women. The debate is about social justice and the responsibility of the state to provide adequate public health for all its citizens.
The silence that is troublesome is the remarkable denial of the majority of adult women who have had abortions, none of whom have the courage to speak out in favour of the need for wider legal provisions. The silence we should mourn is the quiet of public health professionals who every day confront the injustice of an absurd law, but are intimidated by the social stigma of abortion and the loud screams of anti-choice persons. We should all be disturbed that there has been no response to a well-researched and reasoned submission presented to three offices of our elected government more than 100 days ago. Regardless of the issue, that silence is hardly an encouraging signal. Ms Allamani writes of the foetus and of men, but never of women. We never seem to appear in her considerations except as victims — victims of unwanted pregnancies and victims of abortions. Well, I have news for her. We do have minds and we do make choices — safe or not. As for me, my choice to continue or discontinue a pregnancy is a responsible, prayerful, pro-life choice.
LD WARREN
ASPIRE
