One of the reasons the United National Congress (UNC) won the April 28 General Election by a constitutionally significant majority was thousands of voters believed the party's election slogan, 'When UNC wins, everybody wins.'
One of the most noteworthy results of the election is that the UNC won La Brea and Point Fortin, two constituencies long held by the current Opposition People's National Movement (PNM). Clyde Elder, who served as Communications Workers' Union secretary general, won the La Brea constituency and Ernesto Kesar, who currently served as Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) executive vice president, took Point Fortin.
Given the importance of labour representation in winning those two constituencies, there is a measure of irony that another trade union leader, National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) general secretary Michael Annisette, was the first to raise public concerns about the lack of diversity and labour representation on state boards.
Annisette first raised the issue about the absence of labour representatives on boards appointed by the current administration during an address at the Labour Day Rally in Fyzabad last Thursday.
In a follow-up interview with this newspaper, Mr Annisette said the apparent lack of ethnic and class diversity on the state boards whose directors have been appointed so far, was causing concern in the trade union sector.
“Yes, obviously, if we are serious about breaking this ethnic kind of politics and race politics, the UNC, in my humble opinion, must rise above that...There must be diversity not only in what we say but in what we do. If you love us and we are all your children, then there should be no bastard children in any family,” Annisette said.
Mr Annisette said he was particularly concerned about the composition of boards at the Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT), National Gas Company (NGC), Maintenance Training and Security Company (MTS), Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC).
The veteran trade unionist's complaints about the lack of diversity on those important boards are timely, appropriate and relevant.
It is clear that the UNC in government needs to make a greater effort to balance the legitimate need to reward those who helped them return to power against the requirement to ensure the directors who are appointed reflect T&T's diversity, as well as being interested in serving the population and not themselves.
Mr Annisette quite rightly noted the lack of labour representatives on newly appointed boards, pointing out that as a policy, "labour must have input on state boards, especially where there are majority-recognised unions. That is part of tri-partism.”
But the Government needs to go beyond labour representation and pay much closer attention to the lack of ethnic and gender diversity, the paucity of appointments of Tobagonians and even the absence of differently abled directors on state boards.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar appeared to be aware of the serious damage that the perception of the lack of diversity on state boards can do to her party's longevity in office, when she initially responded to Annisette, saying, “Those who think it’s taking too long, remember Rome was not built in a day. We are working on it.”
Clearly, she needs to work harder and smarter on this issue.
