Victory over TSTT, PTSCBy LEISELLE MARAJ Saturday, October 3 2009
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CALL TO PROTEST: A trade union member blows his conch shell during protests yesterday outside the Industrial Court in Port-of-Spain. ...
THE trade union movement yesterday declared victory over the management of state owned companies Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) and the Public Transportation Service Corporation (PTSC), as they marched en masse outside City Gate and the Industrial Court (IC).
The marchers declared victory after it was announced that managers of both TSTT and PTSC formally ended their application to the IC to have both the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and the Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) de-certified.
TSTT and PTSC last week filed separate Industrial Relations Offence (IRO) complaints against the CWU and TIWU, respectively, which formed the basis of the two State entities moving to have the IC declare the two unions de-certified. But the Government intervened and at Thursday’s post-Cabinet press conference, Minister in the Finance Ministry Mariano Browne said that meetings would be held with TSTT and PTSC management to have them reconsider the de-certification applications. Yesterday, it was confirmed that both State entities had formally withdrawn their application to the IC.
Yesterday’s trade union solidarity march began at the transportation hub at about 8.30 am and continued at the IC on St Vincent Street, where CWU officials were attending a pre-trial hearing. Police officers, at one point, approached Oilfield Workers Trade Union President, Ancil Roget, to enquire whether they had permission to hold their demonstration there since they were obstructing public access to the walkway.
Roget informed the officers that the demonstration was peaceful and conducted in a public area. Later on, a handful of officers gathered across the road from the protest to observe proceedings. And even as it was the Govternment which moved to have the de-certification orders stopped, the marchers yesterday loudly called for the removal of Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his PNM-led Government.
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Lenny Saith, who PM Manning in August asked to work with the CWU on Government’s behalf to broker a deal, was heckled by some of the union members as he walked past the protest.
A union member was heard shouting at Saith, “you is ah dog with mange!”. A clearly embarrassed Saith quickly walked off, telling reporters he had no comment to make.
At a seminar yesterday, Browne said the line ministers (Mustapha Abdul Mohammed and Colm Imbert) were expected to meet with TSTT and PTSC management, respectively, late yesterday.
Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the de-certification application, the union members yesterday vowed to keep up the pressure on Government. In fact, they insisted that the TSTT and PTSC boards were instructed by the State to file for the de-certification of the unions.
In several fiery addresses, given while CWU officials were inside the IC, union leaders and representatives commended the show of unity which they said was the reason that Government instructed the companies to call off the court matters.
The unions vowed to not rest until all matters affecting trade unions were resolved. CWU president, Joseph Remy, after attending the court hearing, told the crowd gathered, “Let us not let the impetus subside. This is the beginning of the move for trade unions to take their rightful position in society. The withdrawal of the court matters is the first step in our victory. We will not stop until all matters are resolved, until all workers are reinstated unconditionally,” he said. Remy was referring to the suspension of 68 TSTT employees because of their role in a fracas on July 7, the dismissal of 13 bus workers following a bus strike on September 14, the dismissal of workers at the Water and Sewerage Authority in April and the claims of retrenchment of over 2000 workers at Petrotrin reported by the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) on Thursday.
‘The commonwealth meeting is coming up,”he said, “And if they feel that we are not going to protest because they withdrew the matters from the court, they thought wrong.”
