The trade union movement now knows for sure that Government's imposition of a State of Emergency has everything to do with trade unions. The claim was made by president of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget yesterday as he left the Parliament chamber during the debate on the extension of the State of Emergency. "They used the hysteria of the general public and the public wanting safety and security of life and limb, they used that when they could have gone a different route" said Roget. Roget said trade union leaders are satisfied beyond a shadow of a doubt that the State of Emergency was specifically directed at unions.
Roget said the presentation made by National Security Minister John Sandy was filled with contradictions and had served to strengthen the unions' conviction that they were targeted by the Government. "The Minister of National Security talks about quietly moving 200 guns off the street before a State of Emergency, then claims success during the State of Emergency moving some 15 guns," Roget told reporters. Roget said after their prayer and reflection they felt it necessary to come to Parliament to register their presence and hear for themselves the presentation by the Government as to why the State of Emergency was needed.
Roget said emergency or not, curfew or not, unions will lead workers on the right path to struggle for what is justly theirs. "What it is that they are so hung up on that they would take the country down this destructive path and use all kinds of underhanded and clandestine motives just to deny workers," Roget said if Government continues to impose five per cent on unions, they would deny them not one more day than five. Roget said, at the end of the day it will be workers of the country who will feel the full brunt of the State of Emergency. "When they wake up one morning with no food on their tables, no money in their pockets and no rights at all, then our backs would be against the wall." said Roget.
Following the trade unions' departure from Parliament yesterday Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West Jack Warner, in his contribution, denied that Government was targeting unions.