By Clint Chan Tack Thursday, February 4 2010

THE All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Union (ATSGWTU), which was led by Basdeo Panday for 22 years, is not yet ready to embrace his successor as United National Congress (UNC) political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. However the union hopes that she will be able to address the plight of the former sugar workers who Panday championed for the last 40 years.

Persad-Bissessar, the Member of Parliament for Siparia, defeated Panday in a landslide victory in the UNC’s internal elections on January 24, receiving 13,000 votes to his 1,300 votes. Since her victory, there has been speculation about what political and economic implications it could have for Trinidad and Tobago. One area of particular interest is what was once the sugar belt of Central and South Trinidad which provided the fertile soils for Panday’s growth in the labour movement and ultimately his entry into politics.

Panday served as president general of the ATSGWTU from 1973 to 1995, when he became Prime Minister following the 17-17-2 electoral tie in December 1995. Throughout his career, Panday identified with sugar workers an cane farmer as the grassroots support for his now defunct United Labour Front and eventually the UNC. From government to opposition, Panday has repeatedly sought to advance their cause in and outside of the Parliament.

In an interview with Business Day on Monday, union president general Rudranath Indarsingh observed: “Mr Panday had his own style of leadership.” Indarsingh said against this background it was difficult to make a comparison between how Panday treated with the former sugar workers and how Persad-Bissessar intends to address their concerns as UNC leader. “We shall have to wait and see,” he added.

“In her own constituency, there are hundreds of former sugar workers,” Indarsingh said. The union leader said the delivery of promised agricultural and residential lands to the former Caroni workers from the Government is the main outstanding issue which the ATSGWTU is focusing its attention on.

He stated that the union would be willing to meet with Persad-Bissessar to discuss these and other issues affecting the former workers.