January: The year of our Lord, 2016, started with a swing and a miss as West Indies cricket star Chris Gayle went charging down the wicket to Australian television reporter Mel McLaughlin with a cheeky and inappropriate request for a date during a live interview. In the end, it was …
Read More »All state enterprises are not the same; why large-scale privatisation can be detrimental
“Indeed, the government has to find ways to generate some savings, but wholesale attrition of state-owned entities cannot be a forward-looking strategy. “Especially when looking at them from a profit-loss point of view loses a sense of how some of them may contribute to our recovery and our economic prosperity.” …
Read More »The Politics of Labour: why Governments fear Trade Unions
I want to start by quoting some comments on the impact of wage increases on the economy. High wages wrenched by the trade union movement, led to capital intensive investment since investors preferred to use more machinery rather than pay the high cost of labour High wages were jacking up …
Read More »ArcelorMittal’s actions cloaked in trappings of deception: the story behind the exit
The following letter on ArcelorMittal’s retrenchment of hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago employees was written by Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) education officer Bryan St Louis: Retrenchment is defined as the forced layoff of employees by a company usually to cut down or reduce payroll expenses. In our jurisdiction and in accordance …
Read More »Dear Prime Minister: A policy switch can help T&T though economic crisis
The following open letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, which is titled ‘the leadership we require for these tough times’, was sent to Wired868 by author Keston K Perry: Dear Dr Rowley, It has just been six months since your entry into this office as the fourth head of …
Read More »Shah: Don’t take Mittal’s mill even for free; how T&T fuelled Lakshmi Mittal
Trinidadians are hell, I tell you. Take their almost instantaneous sympathy with the 600-odd steel workers who found themselves jobless last week when ArcelorMittal shut down its plant in this country. Sure, that means at least 5,000 family members facing very uncertain times if not utter devastation. Those who have …
Read More »Is just a PNM movie: Best look at what politicians are saying but NOT doing
“Life is a stage and we are the actors,” calypsonian Lord Valentino sang in the 1970’s. Three or four decades later, endorsement came from the novelist Earl Lovelace, who declared that (Politics in T&T) “…is just a movie.” “Everybody have a part to play,” Valentino also sings. Including Faris Al-Rawi. …
Read More »Punitive and disrespectful! Rowley rips ArcelorMittal but ‘ready to re-engage’
The following is a press release from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on the decision of Luxembourg-headquartered multinational steel company, ArcelorMittal, to shut down its Point Lisas plant and simultaneously put over 600 workers out of a job: It is with a sense of sadness and deep disappointment that the Government …
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