00:00Kuva South MP and United National Congress Shadow Minister for Labour,
00:04Rudian Darusing, is calling the legal advice Works and Transport Minister
00:09Rohan Sinhanan said he received anti-labour. This comes following a
00:13statement made by Minister Sinhanan in Parliament on November 15th in relation
00:18to the Port Authority and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union.
00:24In 2015 a MOA was signed by the DEN Board of the Port Authority of
00:29Trinidad and Tobago which identified a 12% wage increase without following the
00:36acceptable practice. In 2015 it was a similar inter-ministerial
00:43committee that was chaired by Minister Hawaii. Based on the legal advice from
00:50two senior counsel, the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the SWWTU who
00:56advised that the MOA is not enforceable. While Sinhanan has refused to reveal
01:03details on the legal advice saying the issue which has led to a wage war
01:07between the Union and the Port could wind up before the courts, Darusing who
01:12initially asked Sinhanan for those details in Parliament is now calling on
01:17the minister to state who the advice came from. The opposition MP says quote
01:22to be clear it is not a government or any senior council who can declare an
01:27agreement to be illegal that is a matter for the court. The government cannot just
01:32declare unilaterally that an agreement is illegal no matter how many senior
01:38council opinions it purchases end quote. And Darusing is of the views that this
01:43goes against good industrial relations and labour law. He further states that at
01:48present the MOA stands and the legal advice Sinhanan received must be tested
01:54in court. The government through the Chief Personal Officer has counter
01:58offered 2% to Port of Spain dock workers for the period outlined in the
02:03MOA and another 2% for the subsequent bargaining period. The SWWTU which is the
02:09majority union at the port has outrightly rejected it while other trade
02:14unions at the port have accepted a 4%. And Darusing is questioning quote how
02:19can Minister Sinhanan claim that the government wants to negotiate in good
02:23faith when it simply refuses to honour the existing agreement. The minister and
02:28government has no legal right to overturn agreements made by employers
02:34and employees end quote. Alicia Boucher TV6 News
Comments