President of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), Ancel Roget, says yesterday’s meeting with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, was fruitful. It was the first of two meetings Rowley had with labour leaders yesterday, the other was with the National Trade Union Centre (Natuc).
The Government’s team included Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis and Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus. Roget led the JTUM delegation, which included president of the Banking and Insurance Workers Union (BIGWU) Vincent Cabrera, Natuc president James lambert and general secretary Michael Annisette.
Roget said they discussed the alleged failure of certain unnamed Government ministers to adhere to the MOU between the labour movement and the Government. The MOU is an agreement on guidelines for relations between the two parties. Rowley was not available for comment yesterday but Roget said the Prime Minister “did hear us and he committed to having that resolved.
“The Prime Minister would have committed to have his ministers come in line,” he said.
Roget, who is also president general of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), said he also reminded the PM that in the prevailing economic conditions, it was necessary for labour and Government to have meaningful engagements.
He said the labour movement’s alternative economic plan for T&T was discussed and Rowley, in accepting the plan, requested more information. He said the plan was also presented weeks ago to the Minister of Finance and the National Advisory Council and was “an alternative to austerity measures which would prevent workers from carrying the burden of adjustment by themselves and will kick start and grow the economy.”
Roget said JTUM hoped some measures in the plan could be included in the September 30 budget presentation by Finance Minister Colm Imbert. He noted that the plan would not require any new money as it could be financed from within existing resources. He said more discussions about the plan were expected to take place with Imbert in the next few days.
Roget said the meeting also discussed the state of Petrotrin and the labour leaders were told Government would do all it could to prevent job losses within the public sector.