By Michelle Doodhai
http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2003-04-25/news11.html
The All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Trade Union is calling on Government to clarify why wages and salaries due to daily-paid employees of Caroni (1975) Limited for the last three weeks have not yet been paid.
A release from the union, which is headed by Rudranath Indarsingh, said the call is being made in light of recent statements made by Ministers in the House of Representatives that $500 million has been approved for Caroni.
“The union and its membership, in the circumstances, can only conclude that such statements are being played out for the benefit of the media and the population outside of the sugar industry,” it said.
The release said the statement was not made to the benefit of workers, who were given the assurance by Agriculture Minister John Rahael that late payment of wages and salaries would be a non-issue during the 2003 sugar crop.
Sugar workers, the release said, have not been able to satisfy and service their commitments to their families and financial institutions they are indebted to as a result of the non-payment of salaries.
The union is of the opinion that the situation could have been remedied within 24 hours of the Cabinet decision, through the issuance of official correspondence from the Ministry of Finance to the bankers of Caroni.
The ATSGWTU commended workers for their discipline but questioned why sugar workers are treated as “second class”.
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