By PETER GREEN
Well, the unions, or some of them, had their day in the sun on Friday.
They got their wish to protest in the streets of Port-of-Spain.
And of course, the opportunists turned out to be part of the public relations stunt.
Opposition Leader, Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, turned up dressed in the national colours. It was neither Independence Day nor Republic Day, but she was there.
And of course, those Opposition members, who fear she may cut their throats down the road, turned out. Who? Marvin Gonzales, Dr Amery Browne, Symon De Nobriga, who nobody sees in Diego Martin Central, Foster Cummings, still with a tabanca at being out of Government, and of course, the Port-of-Spain Mayor, chanting in front of the Office of the Prime Minister on St Clair Avenue.
Then there was Mickela Panday. Poor thing, she did not know what the protest was all about, but she was there waving the national flag.
I walked with them in the sun, and poor Penny, she loved the attention. Media attention and all. Well, those reporters who called themselves journalists, they need international training. Talk about stupid questions. Must have been the hot sun!
Under the watchful eyes of the police, the union leaders must have been disappointed with the size of the protestors.
They gathered at Memorial Park..not inside. The Park was out of bounds as preparation is in place for Remembrance Day on November 8. The trees were being pruned and the grass was being cut….so not outsiders.
Some of the protestors mistook the occasion. They must have felt it was J’Ouvert or something like that. They danced to the songs of the music trucks. Some bawled at the “5K”.
When questioned by reporters about comments made by the Prime Minister about the PNM joining the march, making it a political affair, Penny said the current Prime Minister participated in union marches in the past.
What she did not know is that Kamla Persad-Bissessar participated in and marched with trade unions during Labour Day celebrations. She has taken part in traditional Labour Day events and marches, such as making her way along the labor march route flanked by security and union members (including the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union) and standing on the Joint Trade Union Movement’s Labour Day platform at Charlie King Junction, Fyzabad.
So when the protestors reached in front of the Office of the Prime Minister on St Clair Avenue, they shouted “Kamla Must Go”. Go where?
The Prime Minister is on record as saying she wants all negotiations to be completed in a satisfactory period. But the unions do not accept that. They did not get anything from Colm Imbert and they were living on 2013 salaries. But they protesting non-negotiations, including TTUTA who got the ten percent increase for salaries.
Well, their march ended at Woodford Square!
