Public Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke has accused certain trade union leaders of playing a part in last Thursday's fracas at the PSA headquarters in Port-of-Spain. Duke said so on Friday while speaking at a news conference at the PSA head office on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain. Last Thursday, suspended executive members of the PSA stormed a general council meeting, sparking verbal and physical confrontations. Duke said the actions were the results of a plot that had been "in training for quite a while." He accused members of the trade union movement for supporting the suspended members, who he referred to as "dissidents."
He said it was the trade union movement's intention to have him overthrown, so the PSA would be "in their hands," allowing them to successfully hold a national shutdown. Duke said the suspended executive members, who he said were responsible for last Thursday's events, regularly took part in the labour movement's demonstrations. He accused a certain labour leader of using them to "poach" PSA members. Duke said the labour leader was responsible for encouraging deviant behaviour among union members, telling them to "take your union back." He said the labour leader had "done nothing but try to ruin every labour leader."
Duke said there could be no solidarity among members of the labour movement unless they recognised the sovereignty of each union. Responding to Duke's accusations that the trade union movement had a part to play in Thursday's actions at the PSA, Oilfield Workers' Trade Union president Ancel Roget said: "I don't respond to foolishness and madness, especially when they are together in a cocktail." Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union president, Vincent Cabrera, when contacted shared Roget's sentiment. Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union president, Michael Annisette, said: "That's not even worthy of a repsonse."