Story Created:
Sep 7, 2012 at 9:58 PM ECT
Story Updated:
Sep 7, 2012 at 9:58 PM ECT
Not many were spared the ire of the Joint Trade Union Movement during the Labour Day in Port of Spain march yesterday.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, National Security Minister Jack Warner, media heavyweights and an unnamed media owner came under fire from the various labour leaders after the four-hour march through the streets.
Thousands of workers attached to the amalgamated unions marched up to Memorial Square at the top of Charlotte Street and then down Frederick Street, back into the capital where they heard from the union leaders.
Ancel Roget, leader of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union, delivered a fiery address aimed at those who he claimed were against workers' rights.
He blasted Persad-Bissessar for capitalising on the new popularity of Olympic gold medallist Keshon Walcott.
"You see you have a Prime Minister who have nothing to do but PR (public relations) all over the place.
"The country running on remote, run by a cabal," Roget told the crowd gathered at Independence Square.
"While everybody is paying attention to the diversion, they are corruptly going away with not thousands of dollars, not millions of dollars but billions of dollars. We would get the biggest set up workers have ever seen in this country," he said.
"All who want to call me disrespectful, remember what we call (former prime minister) Patrick Manning, remember what we call (former prime minister) George Chambers, remember what we call Father of the Nation Eric Williams.
"So if we want to call those who are drunk on power and other things, all kind of things, we are well within our right to call them that," he said.
"We about serious business now and all they know is to be high, fly high," he said.
Roget warned those against the union not to "interfere" with him or the OWTU.
He said people were afraid of Warner for various reasons, including his money, connections and because he collected information on key people.
"I want to say today, this 75-year-old union, we are not afraid of Jack Warner at all. We are going to deal with you and I say that without fear.
"The joint trade union leaders, we know one thing, we are upright and straight, we will be brutal to deal with anybody who decide to prevent us from achieving our objective, which is to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Who vex loss," he said.
With regard to the now contentious bunkering contract, Roget said he did not see why a private company should benefit from such a lucrative deal, when State-owned Petrotrin should have been accessing that same market.
He said this was not the end of the action against the Government, but promised to march against the Prime Minister at both her office in St Clair and her private residence in South Trinidad.
• See Page 5
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