Letters to the Editor
Newsday
THE EDITOR: I am positive we will never forget Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler, the father of the trade union fraternity. We should never forget also the contributions of Adrian Cola Rienzi and the fifth prime minister, Basdeo Panday. May they rest in peace.
However, we still need to wake up and drink the political coffee. The TT unions need to take pause. Why? Because believing in Santa Claus generally ends by age five: 2010-2015 – five years. Will 2025-2030 see another five-year-old political child?
The Fyzabad Accord signed by Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the collective unions prior to general election 2010 greatly assisted in victory for the People’s Partnership.
Fast forward to 2025 and another resounding political victory for the extremely clever UNC leader as she embraced the trade union movement.
Can this new collaborative political victory be construed as similar to the disaster cruise of the Titanic in 1912?
The Titanic, a passenger liner, was transformed into a watery casket after sailing into an iceberg. Global climate change started long before the sinking of the Titanic. And, importantly, the reality of AI has been with international labour unions for many years.
So, let us not mince words. This “new” Fyzabad accord may not last until general election 2030.
You see, this rainy season sees continued immense suffering as many TT lives are drowning in water. And this new government will be forced to allocate billions in order to stymie Mother Nature.
Frankly speaking, Lynette “frighten for them.”
To quote Ozzi Warwick, chief education and research officer and treasurer of the OWTU, “The labour movement has shown once again that it is strong, relevant and influential to the political landscape.”
The landscape is wet, Warwick. Without the collection of property tax and with the decapitation of the revenue collection idea, we may see all citizens drowning in political water.
Read my lips, Warwick: The pressing needs of the farmers must be holistically addressed. Any ridiculous percentages in salary increases promised to trade unions on the hustings may prove extremely difficult. Recreating a viable Petrotrin will not be cheap or easy. One could get severely drunk on this idea.
Labour Day celebrations will understandably be the last fire and brimstone concert. Sob, sob. No money for those expensive concert tickets in 2026?
Where are the political concert promoters? The political analysts?
Happy Labour Day, everybody.
LYNETTE JOSEPH
Diego Martin
