“Rowley must go!”
This was chanted throughout the day yesterday as trade unionists gathered at Charlie King Junction, Fyzabad, for the 86th Labour Day celebrations.
In their bid to make that chant a reality, the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) announced that it will work with the United National Congress (UNC) and other political forces to remove Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the People’s National Movement (PNM) from power.
JTUM president general Ancel Roget said the purpose was not to form a political party but to build a National Front Alliance to remove the PNM from office at the next general election. He urged union members to unite and be ready.
He said: “This afternoon, on behalf of the trade union movement, I wish to announce right here in Fyzabad at this historic Charlie King Junction that in the coming weeks, with the exception of TTUTA and any other apolitical trade union, we have agreed to meet with all opposing forces and political parties, including the United National Congress.
“We will be meeting with all who are opposed to this scandal of corruption and mal-governance of the PNM.”
Roget said Labour Day 2024 was one of the most crucial commemorations ever and compared it to June 19, 1937. He said all the achievements earned over the years were being rolled back or taken away.
“Labour Day 2024 comes at a time when our country is in deep crisis and facing its darkest hour since Independence,” he said.
Roget said the Rowley administration oversaw the closure of the ArcelorMittal steel plant and Tourism Development Company and the decimation of Telecommunications Services.
He added that since the shutting down of Petrotrin in 2018, T&T no longer produces gasoline and many other fuels, many private enterprises have closed and thousands of workers are losing their jobs under the guise of restructuring in government and private enterprises.
Roget further accused the Government of trying to fool the population by saying it saved the country from an International Monetary Fund programme when it had already imposed austere conditions on citizens.
“Today there are more murders than ever in the history of this country. For only six months of this year, 256 of our citizens have been brutally murdered. It means that under Rowley and the PNM, 4,409 people have been murdered since they came into office,” he said.
Roget said it was now time to fire Rowley and the PNM and he told trade unionists at the Labour Day rally that their task was to convince people that giving Rowley and the PNM another term would condemn their children and grandchildren to a life of poverty and destitution.