Leader of the Movement for Social Justice David Abdulah is suggesting that workers who were retrenched by steel giant ArcelorMittal last week be allowed to operate the manufacturing plant in Point Lisas on their own.
Speaking at a press conference at the MSJ office in San Fernando yesterday, Abdulah said the country is getting to a point where these ideas should be considered.
“We want to suggest that if Arcelor Mittal does not want to operate in Trinidad, then maybe the steel workers themselves should go in and occupy that plant,” Abdulah said. “And start in back up and run it in the interest of themselves and the people of T&T.”
“We are getting to that point where we have to think about that kind of arrangement.”
He was commenting on the recent retrenchment of hundreds of workers by Mittal as the company decided to shut down it’s operations in T&T.
“Close to a thousand workers were put on the breadline days before Christmas. And it’s not just them affected but their families too, about 4000 to 5000 people in total are now in a dire situation because of a decision by one of the biggest international companies in the world Mittal, which closed down it’s operations in Trinidad.”
Abdulah said the decision is a part of “new liberal economic practices” by Mittal and slammed the company for making workers pay for a downturn in the global economy.
“We want to make the point that workers must not be made to pay the price of economic circumstances by companies that are continuing to make very substantial profits globally, the ethos of big capital in particular is when they are faced with lower profits, not no profits just lower, the first thing they seek to do is cut labor to keep their profit levels high.”
He said this leads to higher payouts for shareholders and executive members of the company while workers are left to suffer.
“That is absolutely wrong, this ethos of big capital in the context of what we know as new liberal economic systems has been promoting and fostering greater inequality and inequity in societies by ensuring those at the top continue to earn huge incomes while those at the bottom lose their jobs, suffer pay cuts and wage freezes.”
He said when Mittal first came to Trinidad in the late 1980’s, the company benefitted from infrastructure and low energy and gas prices, but after ‘sucking’ T&T dry, the company has moved on.
“We have a situation where these multi-national companies come here, they get fruit like an orange, they suck it dry and when they are finished exploiting our resources and our people they then throw it away. That is what is happening here in Trinidad.”