Persad-Bissessar accused participants of racial and political hatred. No independent turnout figure has been published.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar declared Friday’s union march in Port of Spain a failure hours after it ended, saying “the protest has bust” and telling participants to return to work on Monday.
In a post on social media, she called it a “long touted hate protest” against the United National Congress (UNC) and shared an aerial photograph she said showed the true turnout, adding that the media would not show it. TTT News described the photo as showing an area near the Red House with a relatively small group. Aurax News has not independently verified the photo, and no official or independent attendance figure has been published. A response from the unions was not available at publication.
She said the march did not draw the numbers expected from what she called a “fake” elite, a “local drug mafia,” and wealthy people she described as Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern, whom she said PNM MPs had enriched at the expense of working and middle-class people. She gave no evidence for the claim. She said anything done out of racial and political hatred will always fail and that the population had rejected the marchers’ position.
Persad-Bissessar said she hoped participants had asked PNM MPs why they failed to pay back pay, raise salaries and offer more than zero percent over ten years. She thanked the police for ensuring no violence against law-abiding citizens along the route, and thanked unions and leaders who continue to work with the Government, promising their outstanding issues would be resolved as soon as possible. She ended by telling the public they will never have a leader who loves them more than she does.
Twelve unions took part in the march, joined by Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles and MP Stuart Young. Union leaders say the march was about pay, arrears, job losses and crime, and Beckles rejected claims that it was driven by racial tension. The Public Services Association (PSA) did not join, and its president, Felisha Thomas, called the march a betrayal of workers. On Friday, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath announced a TT$66.1 million PowerGen-OWTU settlement in Parliament.