Blame Rowley for collapse of NTAC, says MSJ leader
Tuesday 16 March 2021
MSJ leader David Abdulah speaks at a media conference on Sunday about his concerns over the departure of the labour movement from the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC). - ROGER JACOB
BLAME for the resignation of the three trade union federations from the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC) is being placed squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister for ignoring advice.
“It was a creature of his own making,” political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah said, saying the PM’s failure to heed the advice of several committees established under his leadership had caused them all to fail.
Opposition MP Rudranath Indarsingh. Photo by Sureash Cholai
Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh has accused the government of failinOpposition MP Rudranath Indarsinghg the labour movement, citing recent protests by workers of the National Insurance Board (NIB) over wages.
Speaking at the UNC’s virtual forum on Monday night, Indarsingh said the workers should be prepared to engage in an industrial-relations war with Minister of Finance Colm Imbert if they are to be heard.
Indarsingh also accused Imbert of attempting to subvert the collective bargaining process and called on workers and labour leaders to take action. I want to warn the labour leaders if we have to stop this rogue, out-of-control Minister of Finance, the labour movement and workers of NIB must be prepared to engage in a war of industrial relations and disobedience to stop Colm Imbert once and for all.
Labour unmoved by calls to return to NTAC
Michael Annisette - ROGER JACOB
THE LABOUR movement appears to be unmoved by calls for it to return to the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC). The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc), the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) all resigned from NTAC on March 11.
NTAC chairman, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, subsequently urged the three labour organisations to rejoin the council in the best interest of the country.
Asked on Saturday if there were any other efforts by Government to persuade the labour movement to rejoin NTAC, Natuc general secretary Michael Annisette replied, Not to my knowledge, other than the formal statements made by former minister of labour Jennifer Baptiste-Primus and the chairman of the committee (Robinson-Regis).
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Minister Robinson-Regis urges enhanced monitoring and evaluation; and digitisation for Government’s projects
10 March, 2021, Port of Spain: Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson Regis is encouraged that Government’s digitization plan is gaining increased traction in Government Ministries and underscored that the digitization process is improving service delivery in Trinidad and Tobago. A case in point is the Town and Country Planning Division’s digitization projects and the automation of the construction permitting system, called DevelopTT.
On her first day back to work on Wednesday March 10, after a period of medical leave from February, Minister Robinson-Regis hosted Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) 2021 Meetings with the Ministry of Labour in the morning and the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service from 1pm. These meetings are being conducted with all Ministries over the next few weeks to determine progress, successes and shortco