INDARSINGH ON INJUNCTION AGAINST PORT WORKERS

INDARSINGH ON INJUNCTION AGAINST PORT WORKERS – ROHAN
SINANAN A “NATURAL DISASTER”; GOVERNMENT BULLYING PORT

WORKERS INTO PAYING FOR ITS FAILURE.

November 20th, 2024.

“High-handed”, “undemocratic”, and “an attempt to deflect from the real source of failure” are some of the ways in which I would describe the move by the Port Authority of Port of Spain (PATT) to seek an injunction from the Industrial Court against the workers at the Port of Spain.

Over the past few months, port workers have been protesting because of the inability of the management of the Port to achieve a satisfactory outcome to negotiations. This move to protest is therefore a resort which had to be engaged by workers as a result of the failure of Port Authority Chairman Lyle Alexander, the management and line Minister, Senator Rohan Sinanan.

We in the Opposition believe that the only way to fruitfully and sustainably rectify the ongoing industrial issues at the Port is not through the heavy-handed move of filing an injunction against the workers, but to respect the collective bargaining process. This process yielded a fruitful outcome in which it was agreed by the Port that workers would benefit from a twelve percent (12%) increase in salary. Regrettably, this PNM Government led by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has turned its back on that agreement, and in the process, dishonoured the collective bargaining process and is bold facedly robbing workers of their just dues.

The Government’s filing of an injunction does nothing to resolve the impasse between the Port management and the workers; on the contrary, this injunction may further erode the workers’ morale and further frustrate them at a commercially critical time in the port’s operations.

Government’s decision to file an injunction against the protesting workers – rather than honour the commitment of a 12% increase – is more than a slap in the face of workers; it is an assault on the labour movement across the country.

It is also an attempt to weaponize the Industrial Court into one, which does the Government’s bidding in the wake of the Government’s failure to rectify industrial unrest on its own. We must not forget that the former President of the Industrial Court, Her Honour Deborah Thomas-Felix was excommunicated from her role at the helm of the Court because of her brave stance against the Government’s policy of mandatory vaccination during Covid-19, which sought to force public sector workers into taking the vaccine or face being furloughed.

The Opposition United National Congress stands with the port workers in defence of the salary increases to which workers are entitled. Rohan Sinanan has been ”a natural disaster” as a Minister of Works and Transport, and the port workers are being bullied by him, the management of the Port and the PNM Government into paying the price for their failure at fruitful industrial relations.

Respectfully submitted

RUDRANATH INDARSINGH
Member of Parliament for Couva South and SHADOW RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
MINISTRY OF LABOUR and TOBAGO AFFAIRS.
681-2525, rudranath43@gmail.com