Fed Chem workers even played, In February 1981, a work stoppage occurred over the dismissal of CPI branch officer Winston Waldron, the entire workforce was dismissed. After 13 meetings at the Ministry of Labour the Union and C.P.I. The CPI workers occupy a special place in the history of the labour movement. It is clear that the labour movement is facing a crisis of industrial relations that has been called the collapse of collective bargaining. The Bermudez Biscuit Company had begun to turn the heat on its workers to leave the OWTU. Later on the Union was to bring down a legal expert - JOHN PLATT-MILI-S QC to fight the Union's claim that the ISA was unconstitutional. He then waged a struggle with the companies to get his Union - the British Empire Workers, Peasants and Rate Payers Union recognised as the representative of the oilworkers. And immediately upon the release of the President General and other detained officers the battle for the survival of the Union intensified. They were able to save the jobs of many persons who would otherwise have lost them. was to make. The Press cried sabotage. The leaders of the oil-workers’ union have proven to be that by backing the energy reforms, albeit through gritted teeth. On the one hand they had serious misgivings about the OWTU, after its unforgivable role in the strike in 1947, On the other hand, their conditions demanded a Union. This bitter struggle lasted four (4) weeks and signalled a wave of militancy and restlessness among workers in the North that did not subside until the rnid-eighties. In fact Union members were elected Parliamentarians, County Councillors, and Aldermen as representatives of the people, and the President General is a member of the Senate. The anger of the workers exploded at Texaco's contempt. It saw the OWTU rebuilt during the turn of the decade of the 50's into a strong trade union capable of winning the best benefits for workers anywhere. The Cabinet then suggested an amendment to the IRA which would send the workers back to work after a specified period. The canefarmers, on the other hand, had organised a new Union - the Island Wide Cane Farmers Union which under the leadership of Raffique Shah - ex-army lieutenant and one of the heroes of the 1970 mutiny, had gained the support of well over 90% of the 10,000 canefarmers in the country. Platt-Mills made the Union's position clear. The companies refused to accept his claim, even though it was obvious to all that he had the support of the majority of workers. They were destined never to complete that peaceful walk. Workers slaved away in the producing fields and in the refineries, under backward and dangerous conditions. On July 27th 1982, while negotiations were taking place at T & TEC headquarters, the Minister of Labour Errol Mahabir announced to another Union delegation which was meeting on another matter that T & TEC negotiations had broken down. During the next few months, an election will be held in this union which could well determine the course. Tidewater on the East Coast dismissed twenty-three (23) workers. After that address all hell broke loose. The Dyes & Chemical Workers Union vs Bombay Oil Industries Ltd. And ... on 15 March, 2001. Then, when it became apparent that his instruction alone was not sufficient, Rojas and other Union officials openly recruited people to break the strike! Butler had come out of hiding on 27th September 1937 in order to give evidence before the FORSTER COMMISSION, on the undertaking by the Governor that he would be free. The Company had planned to immediately retrench three Hundred and fifty (350) workers for, One of the fore-most instigators of this enquiry was none other than John Rojas, disgraced leader of the OWTU. To demand the withdrawal of Texaco's Writ and Injunction preventing the Recognition Board from pursuing OWTU's claim for recognition of the monthly paid workers of Texaco. McEnearney had begun retrenching workers and Lever Brothers workers had put a ban on overtime. This strike was taking place during the Productivity Consultations at Chaguaramas. From that very first meeting in Coon's Town, Fyzabad on the night of July 19th, 1937, the OWTU was inbued with a unique spirit. The Press seized, The Mass Media immediately swung into high gear and the Union was made the scapegoat. From the next day security forces began to deliver fuel supplies. Although the industrial court found Dunlop guilty of illegal lockout and charged the company $20,000, the company paid no heed to the court judgement and the situation deteriorated and stalemated. And it has been because of the unwavering and uncompromising leadership of the OWTU over the last 15-25 years that has caused it, and GEORGE WEEKES in particular, to be singled out for much condemnation and attack. The Neal & Massy conglomerate was on the attack against all unions with which they dealt. None of the major struggles engaged in by the Labour Movement, working people and the OWTU during the period up to the 'bust' in 1982, and indeed the struggles since 1982 can be properly grasped and understood except against the background of the 'oil boom'. Elections for all the Executive posts were held on the 25th June 1962. Training and orientation seminars were organised including a two-week residential seminar at the newly acquired Hobson House. Also as a result of continued public pressure, the Political detainees were released on November 17th, and on that date, George Weekes, Nuevo Diaz and Winston Leonard, all officers of the Union, were released from prison. The Fedchem strike was marked by picket line terror, guns, dogs, police, arrests, yet no one broke the picket line. Rojas was eventually to buckle under the pressure and affiliate instead to the American-backed ICFTU. When the workers at the Trinidad Lake Asphalt Operating Co., went on strike on the 26th July 1939, Butler supported them, the Executive did not. These 'rap' sessions had the effect of strengthening the clarity of ideas of the rank and file members, on their understanding of the mechanism (economic and political) of the neo-colonial society in which they lived and worked, and indicated that their role - as working class peoples and as members of the OWTU lay in the creation of a New Democracy in the country. Many workers felt that more could have been gained if some of the leadership, and in particular JOHN ROJAS, had more resolve to continue the fight. Newspaper editorials tried to paint a picture of subversion and destruction of the economy and the society, yet never a word was mentioned about the survival of the retrenched workers, their wives and children. On his release, Butler was given a Hero's Welcome, and to the Surprise of many was made - not President General of the Union but General Organiser. On May 14th workers at Barrackpore downed tools. And the O~"TU and its members have stated unequivocally that they intend to make history along with their colleagues in the ULF. The Government hoped that its contents would further justify their strong-handed actions in the sugar strike. They shifted the struggle from the picket line and carried it to the population centres, applying incredible pressure on the politicians of the beleaguered PNM, fully understanding that industrial relations is governed by politics and 1986 was an election year. Many workers left South Trinidad and moved to Port of Spain to work on the "Base" because things were hard in the oilbelt. It is estimated that the arrangement cost Trintoc over $300m, the cost of refining oil at Texaco's installations being triple what it would have normally cost Trintoc. But 1980 certainly signalled that the balance of power between the labour movement, the capitalists and the state had begun to shift to the detriment of the labour movement. The 1946 strike by oil workers was only one of many strikes organized by the workers between November 1946 and the middle of 1947. Unrest was continuing throughout the Texaco installations.