2004 March 12.
MEDIA RELEASE
ATLANTIC WORKERS FIGHTING FOR DECENT JOBS
In the face of the courageous struggle being carried out by the construction workers of the Train 4 LNG plant, the country is now being told a lot of nonsense by various spokespersons of big business.
On the one hand certain people are now claiming that the wage demand by the workers will cause inflation. The double standards that these captains of industry and business practice is truly amazing. We ask – how much do they receive in salaries, bonuses and other perks? And when they negotiate and obtain increases do they consider the “national interest” and the impact that their increases will have on inflation and the balance of payments?
It is very clear to FITUN that the ECA and other spokespersons of big business really have no moral right to argue that the workers who are constructing the plants that will earn this country billions of dollars and which will provide many more billions of dollars in profit for the multinational companies should not be paid decent wages. To give but one example, one of the owners of Atlantic –bptt contributes 25% to bp’s global profits!
Some persons, including the Governor of the Central Bank are now speaking as if the wage demands are out of line with the norm. They obviously are ignorant of the facts. The LNG train 4 construction workers are engaged in heavy construction work in the energy sector. At Petrotrin the OWTU’s Collective Agreement stipulates that contractor workers doing work in the oilfields must be paid the minimum of the rates applicable to permanent workers. The current wage for a labourer in Petrotrin is approximately $35 per hour. The market rate therefore for a labourer in the energy sector is $35! The workers at Atlantic are being half that amount. This is wrong.
The Chairman and President of Atlantic LNG are also speaking nonsense when they claim that the protest is about forcing the Government to introduce the minimum wage in the heavy construction sector. The protest action by the workers is very simply to ensure that they get paid what is just and fair. Of the billion dollars that it is costing to construct Train 4, 10% or less will be spent here in Trinidad and Tobago. One major way for the country to benefit from the investment is through the wages and salaries paid. The smaller the amount paid locally, the less the country will benefit from the project. We should also be appreciative of the fact that construction is a very short-term activity and thus the workers cannot wait for an increase. By that time the work would be long gone.
It is also ridiculous for the Prime Minister to state that now is not the appropriate time to implement the Government’s own campaign promise of a minimum wage in the heavy construction sector. We ask – if not now, when? When there are no more plants to be built? We wish to remind the Prime Minister that when the trade union movement met with him at his request in September last year, FITUN specifically raised the issue of the implementation of the minimum wage. The Prime Minister assured us that it would be done. That was six months ago. There can be no excuse about its further delay.
FITUN salutes the construction workers of Train 4, the API workers, the workers of Plipwjise, the temporary workers at Petrotrin, the T&TEC workers, UWI workers, NBN workers, IAL workers and all other workers who are engaged in a struggle for jobs, decent jobs and job security. It was FITUN that put forward the slogan “JOBS, DECENT JOBS AND JOB SECURITY FOR ALL” as the slogan that truly captures the interest of working people and the poor at this time and we will be working towards the achievement of that objective.
David Abdulah
Interim President
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2004 March 5.
MEDIA RELEASE
REMEMBERING 6TH MARCH, 1989 – THE DAY OF RESISTANCE
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) remembers the 15th anniversary of the one-day general strike, popularly known as “The Day of Resistance” which was organized by the labour movement with tremendous success.
On March 6th 1989, the labour movement called on citizens to “Stay at Home” in order to protest the implementation of IMF style structural adjustment policies. The response was overwhelming – especially in Trinidad where very few people went to work. Even taxis, maxis and non-unionised store-workers stayed at home. Many small businesses also closed in solidarity with our call.
While the then NAR Government and successive Governments did in fact pursue significant elements of the IMF, World Bank Structural Adjustment Programme, it can also be said that both the pace and scope of implementation were severely impacted upon by the Day of Resistance and the various protests that came before and after. Had it not been for the resistance led by the labour movement Trinidad and Tobago would, today, not have a single state enterprise as all would have been privatized long ago; public goods and services like water, electricity, health care and education would also be totally controlled by the private sector; wage levels would be even lower than they are today, just to mention a few. We do not have to look too far to see the predicament of others who passed that road. Jamaica continues to be in grave crisis as is the Dominican Republic.
It is also true, however, that those structural adjustment policies (SAP’s) that were implemented took a terrible toll on our society and in particular on the poor since the SAP’s clearly resulted in the burden of adjustment being placed on the poor and most vulnerable – women, youth, the elderly, the disabled. In fact, the implementation of SAP’s can be directly linked to the current problems of unemployment, crime and violence and other major social ills such as the fact that, in spite of the significant growth in the economy over the last ten years, more than 20% of the population still live below the poverty line. And this in the midst of very obscene wealth.
In fact the expenditures on the social sector today, while relatively high, must be seen as the repayment of the “social debt” incurred during the period of structural adjustment. And although some will now be receiving relief for the majority it has come way too late as lives have been destroyed, people have died, families have been broken up, communities have disintegrated and hope has evaporated.
In recalling the “Day of Resistance” FITUN urges working people and the poor to recognize that there is no progress without struggle and that in order to bring about a society built on the principles of “peace, bread, justice and equity for all”, may well require the kind of solidarity which was so admirably displayed 15 years ago.
David Abdulah
Interim President
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THE HAITIAN PEOPLE MUST RESOLVE THE CRISIS
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) expresses its opposition to the intervention by the United States, Canada and France in Haiti. The Haitian people have a very proud tradition of fighting for freedom and independence and neither wish nor require any external intervention that seeks to impose a solution to their crisis.
In fact, external intervention, while not the only factor, has contributed to Haiti’s problems being what they are – both in the past and the present. The US, in particular, has always sought to intervene in Haiti’s affairs – be it the non-recognition of Haiti until more than 60 years had passed after its independence or the invasion and subsequent occupation of Haiti, which occupation lasted for some two decades. It is also clear that the US played a role in the coup d’etat against President Aristide in 1991 – just seven months after he was installed as the first democratically elected leader of that country.
FITUN was therefore disturbed, firstly, by the fact that Caricom sought to intervene in the developing crisis in Haiti only after the US President spoke to Prime Minister Manning. Secondly, it is also clear that the Caricom initiative to bring about a resolution to the conflict was undermined in the last few days by the US changing its position. The Caricom proposal was based on President Aristide remaining in office until the expiration of his term in 2006, which position was supported by the US until, unilaterally it demanded that Aristide should go because he was “not fit to govern”.
Quite apart from resulting in the torpedoing of the Caricom proposal, the US has no moral right to pronounce on who is “fit to govern”. Many in the world share the very strong view that neither Mr. Bush nor Mr. Blair are “fit to govern” given their lies about weapons of mass destruction being the reason to invade Iraq, and their initiation of an illegal war. However, while many millions the world over and many important governments question these leaders “fitness to govern”, nobody seeks to militarily or politically intervene in the internal affairs of the US or UK in order to oust them from office. Yet this is precisely what the US, France and Canada have done.
FITUN states that the Haitian situation is extremely complex and can only be resolved by the Haitian people themselves. The Haitian people must be the determinants of their own destiny and must not have their sovereignty infringed. In this regard we oppose the use of US, French or Canadian military in Haiti, as these forces will be essentially another army of occupation. Caricom must not be part of such an army of occupation. The only auspices in which Caricom can participate is under a United Nations peace-keeping force, which force is not under the military command or control of the US, France or Canada – all of which have already sent troops into Haiti and thus usurped the UN’s role.
There is a need for a transition government in Haiti, one that would have the participation of all the various legitimate political parties and civil society organizations. For this transitional government to be able to function all the armed groups – the ex-Duvalierist army officers and FRAPH operatives; the ex-Aristide, now anti-Aristide elements (formerly known as the “Cannibal army”); and the pro-Aristide elements known as the “chimeres” – must be disarmed. A U.N. peace-keeping force can play a key role in this process of disarming.
Ultimately, however, the Haitian people themselves can and will work out the solutions to their very serious economic, social, environmental and political issues. All they require is the space to do so. A transitional government should provide the political space to enable the national dialogue necessary for the people to identify the way forward for their country. There is also a need for economic support for the process of transformation. Caricom should assist in this regard based on the specific requirements identified by the Haitian people as they discuss the solutions to their situation.
FITUN believes that the recent events in Haiti once again demonstrate the absence of historical knowledge and current information by the people of Trinidad and Tobago on other Caribbean nations. There is thus a clear need for a process of public information and education and to this end we propose the formation of a “Haiti Solidarity Committee” that would facilitate such a process.
David Abdulah
Interim President