Tag Archives: Trade Unions

General T&T, Labour, PNM, Politics

A Labour Day story

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By Raffique Shah
June 21, 2021

Raffique ShahWith this country’s history largely unwritten, and in many instances unrecorded, I shan’t be surprised if my column today reads like Greek hieroglyphics to most people.

Many of us have an interest in knowing where we came from, this potpourri of races that confuses us more than foreigners. Our only identification mark, I cite Meer and Fuchs, examining our language from a phonetic perspective, is the sing-song prosody linguists insist we expose when we speak.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Labour, Law, People's Partnership, Police, Politics, Protest

Begging for Freedom

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 11, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeMany of us do not understand that freedom is not something one asks for. It is something that one demands; a state of being that is renewed perpetually through our actions. Imagine the spectacle of the biggest unions in the country and the opposition party begging for permission to march rather than demanding that their constitutionally-guaranteed right to assembly and petition their government be honored which, incidentally, is the basis of democratic government.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Labour, Law, Police, Politics

Squandering Emergency Gains

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By Raffique Shah
September 18, 2011

Raffique ShahMANY moons ago—I must have been age 15, still attending college—a simple incident exposed me to the abuse of power, authority, uniform, maybe a combination of all these, by certain police officers. We Form Four or Five boys, as we awaited the bus to take us to our home districts, used to lime in a concrete drain (it was clean and offered some shade) that we had christened “Canal Park”.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Labour, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, Violence

State of Emergency Nothing to Do with Crime

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By Gerry Kangalee
August 23, 2011 – workersunion.org.tt

State of EmergencySo in the midst of the joint unions’ mobilising for the general strike, the government has declared a state of emergency under the guise of dealing with crime. It is clear that this latest desperate act by the PP government has nothing to do with reining in crime, but everything to do with beating back the rising tide of working class discontent. On July 21st the website of the National Workers Union published this article.
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Finance, General T&T, Labour, Politics

Confusing ‘Dookonomics’

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By Raffique Shah
August 21, 2011

Raffique ShahMinister Winston Dookeran confuses me. He insists that the Budget deficit for fiscal 2010-2011 remains at around $8 billion, as he projected last year. Yet, he admits that Government collected $2 billion in unanticipated revenue from delinquent taxpayers who responded to the tax amnesty. He also admits that oil prices have been higher than budgeted, and prices of other downstream commodities (methanol, ammonia) have been buoyant.
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Finance, General T&T, Labour, People's Partnership, PNM

Jam them!

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By Raffique Shah
August 07, 2011

Raffique ShahTHE trade unions and government have both contributed to messy state of industrial relations that hovers over us all at a time when we should be focussed on climbing out of the economic mess we remain mired in. Gun talk, rather than constructive dialogue, drives the tension to unbearable levels.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad -Bissessar is reported as having told union leaders, when she terminated a meeting with them, “Bring on the national strike!” (or words to that effect). And Ancel Roget, offering little hope of a negotiated settlement, warned the population, “Stock up on candles!”
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