Time will tell says Kamla

As she tries to mend a rift between her Government and some trade unionists, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is insisting that there was never any political interference in the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union’s (OWTU) negotiations with state-owned Petrotrin. She was speaking with reporters while attending Shivratri festivities at the Patiram Trace Shiv Mandir in Penal on Sunday night. Speaking out for the first time since the OWTU brokered a nine per cent general wage increase for Petrotrin workers, Persad-Bissessar said she was not afraid of the statements made by OWTU’s president general, Ancel Roget, that her Government will pay the ultimate political price for imposing a five per cent wage cap on negotiations at state enterprises.

“Time will tell,” she said. “The jury is still out and whether it is five years or three years, the voters will have a chance to express their pleasure or displeasure. “In the meantime, I will do what I think is best with the guidance of my team, my MP’s and my senators. “I will do my best as I see it fit. That mandate was given to us and I am not afraid. I will do what I have to do.” Persad-Bissessar also congratulated the OWTU and Minister of Labour Errol McLeod for holding off mass strike action at the state-owned petroleum company.

Describing the move as a “win-win” situation, Persad-Bissessar said: “It was in the best interest of the country and I want to thank our Minister of Labour who really laboured long hours to bring it finally to a close. “I want to thank him very much and, of course, I have always defended the right of the workers to take such action that they deemed necessary,” she said. “It is very clear that there was never a five per cent wage bar...There was never any political interference.”

On the issue of the Opposition’s motion of no confidence, Persad-Bissessar said she was unfazed. “Mr Rowley has already filed it and I am of the view that it is frivolous, vexatious and without merit,” she said. “There is a lot of support for Government in the country and it shows Mr Rowley’s incompetence that he would want to file a motion on those grounds.” Saying that the motion would be defeated in the Parliament, Persad-Bissessar added: “We are not afraid of it and it will surely give us the opportunity to speak about our achievements throughout the debate in Parliament.”

On Carnival Sunday, Persad-Bissessar spent the night visiting over 14 mandirs in her constituency in celebration of Shivratri, a Hindu festival which honours the deity Lord Shiva. The PM said she had been taking part in the festivities for more 20 years to seek blessings and guidance. “Every year for the past 20 years, I have visited the temples here in my constituency...It is a very blessed night,” she said.   “I have done this for 20 years and it gives me a lot of strength and courage.

“I think to do this job you must have some spirituality and some blessings. “I always say put God in front and tonight I am doing that.” She added that her belief was that there is one God who is worshiped in different ways and different languages. The Prime Minister explained that she had attended many Carnival events for the season and it was prudent for her to give time to God.