Please allow me to make a correction of fact, to frequent assertions in various arms of the media, that representatives of certain trade unions and trade union organisations get characterised as being the voice or voices of the "trade union movement," or alternatively the "labour movement" in T&T.
I cite the instant case of a report in the T&T Guardian, Page A8, Friday, April 24, tagged "Backlash coming."
In the advisory, the report says that "Roget warned government to 'brace for the trade union movement's backlash...." arising out of a current affair involving the OWTU and Petrotrin.
To say the least, it would have been more than eye-opening were Mr Roget to correctly have been reported as speaking on behalf of the "trade union movement" when he delivered remarks attributed to him in this case.
Mr Roget is the President General of the OWTU, one of the organisations involved in the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs as well as with the Movement for Social Justice.
Many more trade unions in the country are registered under the umbrella of the National Trade Union Centre, the body recognised as the representative trade union organisation in the country. The NATUC represents a significantly larger number of trade unions, and therefore workers, than either the Fitun or the MSJ. In addition, the Public Services Association (PSA) and the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) are prominent among other trade unions which are unattached from either of these bodies.
Mr Roget does not and cannot ordinarily speak for those trade unions and any characterisation of his comments as reflecting the views of the entire "trade union movement" would simply be incorrect. It is an error which must be avoided.
Trade unions from the NATUC, including NATUC executive members, as well as other unattached trade unions, attended and participated in the series of sectoral roundtable discussions organised by the Prime Minister in January this year, in the wake of her address to the nation on January 8, in light of the fall in energy and commodity prices, and the government's response to it.
Further to this, in March this year, under the auspices of the Minister of Labour and Small and Micro enterprise Development, a Social Dialogue Task Force was launched, with a statement of principles aimed at fostering dialogue and consensus on issues of major significance for national development. This is a tri-partite mechanism, with representation from trade unions, private sector organisations and the Government. It is also expected to include representatives from the NGO community.
By their own choosing, neither Mr Roget's OWTU, the Fitun nor the MSJ are involved in any of those endeavours.
I crave your indulgence in having this matter clarified, for the better edification of your publics.
Andy Johnson,
Executive Director,
Rapid Response and Current Affairs,
Ministry of Trade