Indarsingh condemns workers’ dismissal

Newsday : Thursday, January 7th 2010

link : http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,113749.html

ALL Trinidad General Workers Trade Union (ATGWTU) president general Rudranath Indarsingh says the dismissal of 46 contracted workers at the Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited (SMCL) at Usine, Ste Madeleine, is “anti-worker and anti-union.”

In a statement, Indarsingh called on the Labour Ministry to investigate why the workers were dismissed and why the company and the contractor refused to re- employ the workers.

He believes the action comes after the workers sought his union’s intervention and applied to have the ATGWTU represent their interests.

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, who is also Honorary President of the union, in an interview yesterday said the dismissal of the workers was “indicative of the anti-worker stance by both the employer and the Government.”

“I warned them about what would happen if they took the VSEP but they did not listen to me then, because this Government does not care about them and their plan was always to get rid of the workers and the unions,’ he said.

An official at the SMCL said yesterday that the company only employed 23 workers while the 46 which were laid off were from the contractor Technical Maintenance Company (TMC), which was responsible for laying them off.

Efforts to reach SMCL chief executive officer Chandra Bobart and TMC boss Christopher Paul proved futile.