raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
Leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) Watson Duke is continuing the 100-year tradition of trade union leaders who have moved into political leadership in T&T.
Arthur Andrew Cipriani, Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler, Basdeo Panday and Errol McLeod are among the labour leaders who have crossed into politics.
Duke, president of the Public Services Association (PSA), the latest to do so, recently led the PDP to a resounding victory in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections on December 6 breaking the PNM’s 20-year hold on power in Tobago. He will step down as PSA president on December 31.
A century of trade union politics
T&T’s trade unionists’ long history of involvement in politics dates back more than 100 years to Cipriani whose political career started during World War 1 when he led a one-man campaign for a regiment of non-white West Indian soldiers. In 1919, he became president of the Trinidad Workingmen’s Association (TWA) which led to the formation of the Trinidad Labour Party (TLP).
Cipriani fought for the eight-hour workday, legalisation of trade unions, universal suffrage and equal rights for women and was elected mayor of Port-of-Spain on eight separate occasions.
In 1936, Butler formed the British Empire Workers and Citizens Home Rule Party (BEWCHP) and had various levels of success at the local government level. In 1961, he contested the general elections for the La Brea seat.
Basdeo Panday entered politics in 1966 when he became a member of the Workers and Farmers’ Party. He was one of the founders of the United Labour Front (ULF) and first entered Parliament in 1972 as an Opposition Senator.
Panday founded the United National Congress (UNC) in 1988 and became Prime Minister in 1995.
More recently, former Oilfield Workers Trade Union leader (OWTU) President General Errol McLeod served as Labour Minister in the People’s Partnership Government which took office in 2010.
In 2015, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, a former PSA president, became the PNM’s Labour Minister.
Former Education Officer of the OWTU David Abdulah is the political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) and the party has been fielding candidates in general and local government elections.
Labour-politics links
Several labour leaders and industrial relations experts have weighed in on Duke’s recent triumph and claims of a conflict of interest.
Lesmore Frederick, an industrial relations consultant and lecturer at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business said it is a misconception to believe that trade unions should stay out of politics.
“A trade unionist’s decision to engage in political activities should be viewed as strategic. I am of the view that the other function of trade unions, such as economic and job regulation tends to add value to the power of trade unions which in my opinion is achievable through the influence of a political party and the legislative arm of a government with a labour ideology.”
Frederick added that a trade union leader who forms a political party would be more inclined to understand the needs of working-class people. He gave the example of Panday, who started of as a trade union leader and eventually became Prime Minister.
“It is reasonable to conceptualise and appreciate the strategical intent of a trade union leader wanting to be affiliated with a political party that shares a common labour ideology. A trade union may consider it necessary to form its own political party to be used as a medium to bring about social changes in the interest who are not in the ownership of a business. It is of the view that a political party led by a former trade union leader would be more inclined to identify with the needs of the working poor.”
He said Duke’s decision to resign from the PSA to give himself fully to politics may “allow him to achieve effective social changes through his own political agenda rather than to be dependent on the goodwill of a political party that may be less inclined to be labour oriented or share his vision.”
Industrial relations consultant Robert Giuseppi said there is nothing wrong with labour leaders getting involved in politics as they should use any available avenue to fight for social justice.
Giuseppi pointed out that people from trade union backgrounds have personal political positions and so it is natural that when they leave the labour movement they go into politics.
“The disadvantage we have here is that the population is small and if one were to look at Tobago alone the population is even smaller. It will be pretty difficult for any trade unionist to balance that situation. In Tobago, everything is tangled up from politics to trade unions work to business. It is all tied together. Duke realised that trade unionism and politics cannot be separated in Tobago,” he said.
Noting that Duke has been fighting for workers all his life, Giuseppi said it is left to be seen whether he has made the right decision to leave the labour movement for full-time politics.
“In Tobago, the THA is the biggest employer and they depend on the state for nearly everything. Duke is moving from the workers’ side to the employer’s side in the THA. Let’s see how he makes the transition,” he said.
Former secretary-general of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Joseph Remy defended Duke’s decision to transition from labour into politics. He argued that the trade union fight for better conditions for the working class is closely linked to politics and trade unions’ involvement in politics is a regional and global phenomenon.
“If you look at the wider Caribbean region, St Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, and look at the names of those parties—Barbados Labour Party, St Vincent Labour Party—all of those parties had their origins through progressive trade unionism. They understood that politics has to change on the basis of some input from people. Trade unionism is part of the political system,” Remy said.
“Butler mixed trade unionism with politics, Cipriani was also an active trade unionist and politician. At the end of the day, Duke has done an incredible job in staving off a PNM battalion in Tobago which was led by the Prime Minister of all people. And now you are hearing all types of experts saying trade unionism and politics don’t mix. I don’t see an issue with an active trade unionist being involved in politics.”
He added that some people want trade unions to stick to core industrial relations issues but in the real world where politics, the economy and trade unions are all intertwined it is not so simple.
“I don’t see a conflict of interest. I understand that trade unions are seeing dwindling numbers but it has to do with the type of political system we practise. We live in a capitalist system and the younger students at school are not taught the history of the Caribbean region. The history of the region is entrenched with trade union leaders,” Remy said.