The trade union movement plans to bring down the Government by not supporting its re-election, president general of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget has said.
Speaking at the community meeting held by the Joint Trade Union Movement in Point Fortin on Saturday evening Roget said, “Government would have never been in power if it was not for the labour movement’s support and he made no apologies for the trade unions’ plan to bring down the Government.
Roget told the Express “Government will not be getting the labour movement’s support. They have attacked the labour movement and the workers of this country and have betrayed them and therefore we believe that a campaign must start highlighting all of these issues and if they think that means bringing them down, then so be it.”
Roget said the unions are insisting that the State of Emergency which was called was to stymie the progress and the campaign of the trade union movement for better wages and terms and conditions and continue to call for its immediate end because it is hampering their mobilisation.
“The unions pledged their support to resist in whatever way necessary the imposition of the five per cent and we did say that the Government can take us to the courts and ask the courts to impose the unfair five per cent wage settlement on us. But in the hearts and minds of the people of this country we are not taking that just like that, because there is a political price to be paid.
“We will insist that they will not be returned to governance. They have betrayed the trust of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, we cannot support all of the nonsense.
“At the end of the State of Emergency whether it ends next month, next year, or before the elections, it must end and when it ends we are calling on all citizens, all workers to be prepared for a massive street demonstration in the likes of which this country has never seen before.”
The demonstration he said will be to highlight their disapproval of the type of governance which has taken place since May 24 last year.
Roget added that despite the inclement weather on Saturday there was a large turnout to the meeting that was initially scheduled to be held at the Point Fortin Town Hall but which had to be relocated to the Festival Square in Point Fortin.
-TRINI EXPRESS
