TUC Considers Senate Seat

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Thursday, 28 February 2013 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - Following the Prime Minister’s declaration that at least two Senate seats are vacant, the Antigua and Barbuda Trade Union Congress is debating the idea of requesting that a labour representative be allowed to sit once again in the Senate.

President of the TUC Kim Burton made this revelation on Wednesday, noting that the gesture of balance offered by the UPP administration when it took office in 2004 to include a Congress representative, was not forthcoming after the 2009 polls.

This means that Senator David Messiah, who was the TUC choice at the time, does not actively represent the Trade Union movement at this time.

“We never got a reappointment. We got nothing. All we knew is that he (David Messiah) retained the Senator-ship. We were not given an opportunity to nominate anyone. It (his appointment) came from the PM and not the TUC,” Burton made clear.

He declined to go as far as to say that the appointment of a representative of the Labour Movement in the Senate was a policy of the UPP but he would say that the move was one considered “in good faith” as the party “tried to create a balance of input” when it offered a Senator-ship position to the Congress. Whether or not this balance of input is still a priority of the government was not a question Burton could answer.

“David Messiah was the most likely candidate then, having been one of the most distinguished in the midst.  At the last election there was no communication regarding an appointment so we listened keenly on how the Senator-ship would be filled,” Burton said. “If it is that the Prime Minister wanted the TUC to send a nominee we would have gotten a letter. We got none, so it was intended to be that way. Either that or it was a grave oversight. However, it is not a source of contention.”
At this moment he said the Congress is thinking of writing to the Prime Minister and asking if he would be willing to reconsider making an appointment available to them.

“We have mixed feelings about looking to get someone in there but we still believe it is worth a try… If you have people who are familiar with labour practices and the plight of the worker arguing at the parliamentary level it can’t hurt our cause.

TUC would like to give the membership as much exposure as possible at all levels of society,” Burton said.

He pointed out that the Trade Union Movement and politics have always been intertwined and arguably it has in many cases been in the best interest of the workers.

Leader of Government Business in the Senate Hon. Dr. Errol Cort clarified that there has been a tradition of including government appointed Senators, an individual who comes from or is associated with a trade union.

“This Senator is, however, not representing his/her union or the TUC in the Senate, since the
Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda makes no provision for such representation,” Dr. Cort
said.

According to him, the Senator, being appointed by the Prime Minister, would
therefore be considered  a “Government Senator” or a “Government appointed Senator.”

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