The Opposition is mobilising its forces to push back against government's decision not to renew CEPEP contracts. It's going to involve legal action and a call to the workers to be prepared to march for their rights. Political Editor Juhel Browne explains
00:00Before the PNM held their special convention at City Hall in Port of Spain on Sunday, the party's new political leader and leader of the opposition, Penelope Beckels, led a team of her party's MPs who, like herself, are attorneys, including the PNM's new chairman, Marvin Gonzalez, at a meeting in Coover with CPEP contractors whose contracts were not renewed on Friday.
00:23As a result of that singular action of CPEP, over 10,000 employees within the organization have been placed on the breadline. Interestingly, this has happened as we bring an end to the school tomb where a lot of our mothers and single parents are depending on a simple wage to feed their families, to send their children to school, etc.
00:49The opposition is dismissing claims by the new UNC-led government that there had been no proper oversight of CPEP under the former PNM administration.
00:58We are assembling a team of attorneys to offer free legal representation to all of the contractors and all of the employees to ensure that the government is stopped dead in their tracks from proceeding with this very wicked and what we believe illegal act.
01:14Later, during the PNM's special convention, MP and former Public Utilities Minister Gonzalez referred to a statement made in the Parliament on Friday by opposition MP and former Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
01:27As the MP for Diego Martin Northeast said, we are not witnessing a creeping dictatorship, we are witnessing a galloping dictatorship.
01:38The PNM's new chairman issued a call of mobilization.
01:42They have touched us and we are going to respond, and we are going to respond not only in the courts, but we are going to respond politically as well.
01:53Stand by, stand by, get your marching shoes ready, get your clothes ready, and the battle has just started.
02:03The battle has just started. They touch one, they touch all.
02:07Opposition leader Beckles also spoke on the matter during her first speech as the PNM's new political leader, as she referred to statements once made by the deceased former Prime Minister and former PNM political leader Patrick Manning.
02:21And the chairman said it, those who really believed when UNC wins, everybody wins, now understand that that was a big lie.
02:34In just two months, close to 15,000 people have already found themselves without jobs.
02:45Mr. Manning warned us that it's only the PNM that makes governance look easy.
02:52The new PNM political leader had a message for the government based on a quote from another deceased former Prime Minister and former political leader of the PNM.
03:01This government is still in the honeymoon phase, but let me remind them what former political leader George Chambers said,
03:10Fet done, back to work.
03:16I say to this government, get to work and proper work, not vindictive and spiteful work, but work for the benefit of all the people.
03:26Be assured that we will hold this callous government account.
03:33The PNM first raised their concerns about the latest developments with CPEP in the House of Representatives on Friday.
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