By LEISELLE MARAJ Tuesday, March 9 2010

TRADE unions continue to call for the resignation of the entire Udecott board in the wake of that State entity’s executive chairman Calder Hart’s resignation over the weekend. Yesterday, the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) also called on the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) to call general elections in light of its defense of Hart and Udecott and for President George Maxwell Richards to revoke the appointment of Senator Michael Annisette, a Udecott board member.

The union noted the work of the Congress of the People which revealed evidence of Hart’s family ties to a company which Udecott awarded $820 million in contracts and public pressure which led to Hart’s resignation from Udecott and four other State appointed positions. OWTU called for the report of the Uff Inquiry into the construction sector to be immediately laid in Parliament and for the prosecution of those involved in wrongdoing in Udecott to begin.

“The action by the Government in Parliament on Friday 5 March 2010 to block the motion for a debate on Udecott and its executive chairman is another example of a government desperately trying to defend wrongdoing and hide the truth from the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Transport and Industrial Workers’ Union (TIWU) also called on the resignation of the Udecott board and a full scale criminal investigation to be done on Udecott. “TIWU Executive Chairman warns the Government that the people of Trinidad and Tobago are highly agitated over the implication of the Udecott affair and will not be content with any mamaguy investigation meant to obfuscate the issues, (cover up wrong doing and protect wrongdoers), whether at the level of the Udecott board and/or management or at the level of the political directorate,” the union said.

On Sunday, Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs president, David Abdulah, made similar calls for the resignation of Annisette and the other members of the Udecott board because of their move to disrupt the Uff Inquiry with court proceedings.