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Unions Mobilise Aid For Haiti
 
 
The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has announced that it will accept clothing and non-perishable foodstuff to assist the people of Haiti as they struggle with the aftermath of the monstrous earthquake of January 12th 2010. The collection point is CWU headquarters, 146 Henry Street, Port of Spain.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUN) has partnered with the NGO Is there not a cause to provide relief for the people of Haiti.
 
Paramount Building, Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) Headquarters 99A Circular Road, San Fernando will serve as a drop off point for supplies to be shipped to Haiti.
 
Nikki Johnson, Education and Research Officer of the OWTU who is responsible for co-ordinating the effort, said that the priority supplies were bottled water; canned food and can openers; toiletries (especially female toiletries)  - carbolic, blue soap etc.; basic first aid and medical supplies and seviceable clothing (no
US MILITARY TAKEOVER
 
As the United States military moves to take control of Haiti in the wake of  the disastrous earthquake of Tuesday 12th January, reports are surfacing of  humanitarian aid missions being blocked by the US military.
 
Bill Van Auken writing in the COUNTERCURRENTS.ORG website says:"The deployment of troops has taken priority over the distribution of aid. As the Miami Herald reported Friday, “US air-cargo traffic was grounded to give the military airlift priority to bring moving equipment and the first 100 of a planned 900-paratrooper deployment of the 82nd Airborne Division from North Carolina.”

UNICEF, which has massed relief supplies in Panama, sent a plane full of medical kits, blankets and tents, but was denied permission to land and forced to return to Panama."...more

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) said that one of its planes carrying essential medical supplies was not permitted to land at the airport.

"Despite guarantees, given by the United Nations and the US Defense Department, an MSF cargo plane carrying an inflatable surgical hospital was blocked from landing in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, and was re-routed to Samana, in Dominican Republic," the group said in a statement Sunday. "All material from the cargo is now being sent by truck from Samana, but this has added a 24-hour delay for the arrival of the hospital."

Trinidad and Tobago's Sunday Express of Sunday 17th January 2010 reports that a CARICOM aid mission was forced to turn back from Haiti by the US military.

shoes with holes, old underwear etc.)

Sister Johnson can be contacted at 652-2701-3

The National Union of Government and Federated Workers has committed itself to mobilising relief for Haiti
 
Labour and progressive organisations all over the world have been mobilising themselves to support the Haitian people...more 
 
UNDERSTANDING HAITI:
 
PAYING THE PRICE!
 
The Haitian revolution (1791) played a vanguard role in the destruction of New World slavery and colonialism in the 19th century. The defeat of Napoleon's troops and the beating back of Great Britain's military forces ensured the independence of Haiti (1804) and hastened the end of chattel slavery throughout the Caribbean.
 When the Haitian revolutionary forces gained the upper hand against the forces of colonialism and slavery, many Haitian planters fled to Trinidad, bringing their slaves with them.
 
Haitian succour and support was critical to the success of the Latin American independence movement from Spain and the country has had to pay and is still paying a dear price for its revolutionary role in world history...more

 
 
 


DISMISSED PTSC FOURTEEN RE-INSTATED


The fourteen workers dismissed by the Public Transport Service Corporation, (PTSC) for allegedly violating a court injunction during the struggle to protect their health and safety have been re-instated. Details of the re-instatement will be published shortly.

    
REGIONAL NEWS

RUSSIAN BAUXITE COMPANY MOVES TO DECERTIFY
 
GUYANA UNION
 
 In the wake of moves by two state companies in Trinidad and Tobago to decertify the unions representing their employees, the  predominantly Russian-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) has voiced its intention to "de-recognise" the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the bargaining agent for most of the company’s 500-odd workers...more
 

 
NWU SUPPORTS GUYANA UNION IN "DERECOGNITION" STRUGGLE
 
On December 12th 2009, the National Workers' Union sent the following message of solidarity to Charles Sampson, the President of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers' Union ... more
 

LINK UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

We  feature here what we call link under the spotlight. These links will change over time. They are featured to assist us in dealing with the complexities with which we are faced as we strive to develop our consciousness and flesh out our world view.
 
The link under the spotlight, at present, is a video giving a brief but insightful synopsis of the historical development and political significance of Haiti.  Previous links under the spotlight can be accessed here.
 

Union Communications Services is a 100% union book store offering a large, varied and helpful selection of hand-picked books for union leaders, activists and rank-and-file members. Many of these 150-plus titles can’t be found anywhere else.

Visit the UCS Online Book Catalogue to purchase items.
 
By buying your books through the UCS Online Book Catalogue you are making a donation to the National Workers Union. Help us to help you!
 
 
LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE CATALOGUE
 

Although nearly half of union members in the United States are female, little more than one leadership position in five is held by a woman. This report is designed to promote women’s activism and leadership within unions ...

If you ever face negotiations with a difficult employer, you need this book.

Why Unions Matter

Unions mean better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their members#59 they force employers to treat employees with dignity and respect#59 and at their best, they provide a way for workers to make society both more democratic and more egalitarian.

What can unions do as the Great Recession ravages workers and their unions and threatens to destroy decades of collective bargaining gains?

Contract Costing for Union Negotiators (with CD)

This incredibly helpful new manual for union negotiators explains both the fundamentals and the details of costing a collective agreement to prepare for and conduct your contract negotiations. It describes the principal ways that contract costs are calculated and expressed by negotiators, and guides you through the process of accurately calculating average wages for your bargaining unit ...

A New New Deal: Regional Activism and the Labor Movement

In A New New Deal, Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds offer a bold new plan to revitalize American labour activism and build a sense of common purpose between labour and community organisations. Can we adapt these ideas to Trinidad and Tobago?

The Bully at Work, 2nd edition

If you are bullied at work or want to understand more about this silent epidemic, you’ll want this book. You’ll learn that women and men are equally likely to be bullies, and women are more likely to be targets than men.

Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to Capitalism

Jim Stanford, an economist in the research department of the Canadian Auto Workers, thinks economics is too important to be left to economists. So, he wrote this concise and readable book to provide nonspecialist readers with all the information they need to understand how capitalism works – and how it doesn’t.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

RadioLabour
presents "Solidarity News" - a 20 minute audio-cast of international union news every Monday.

Solidarity News will focus on union and workers' activities and issues from around the world with special emphasis on emerging market and developing countries. RadioLabour reporters will provide regular weekly presentations, but a special feature of the audiocast will be reports from unionists who want to report on particular events or publicise an activity of their organization.

Scripts of the audiocasts will be available as aids for unionists who want to learn the use of English as an additional language in the international labour movement.

For more information about RadioLabour, listen to the audiocasts, or provide reports ... visit RadioLabour.


World Federation of Trade Unions

We are in the middle of the international economic crisis. Unemployment, poverty, expensive prices on basic food-stuff, further raise. The imperialistic wars create more refugees and migrant workers, more destructions. The profits of the capitalists increase.

In the last year the Working Class did many big, massive and efficient struggles. In the new year, new struggles could and should be even stronger. The trade union movement in all over the world to become stronger ... more


Canada/Brazil:

Tell Vale that divide-and-conquer won't work

Since being privatised in 1997, the global mining giant Vale has unleashed a vicious attack on workers.

The company undermined health and safety standards in Brazil and now it's set its sights on Canada ... more




Guadeloupe

UNREST RISES

The social situation in the “French West Indies”, and particularly in Guadeloupe, is boiling once again... more.   


Injured at work?

If you have been injured at work, and it can be established that your accident was caused by negligence, then it may be possible to sue for compensation.

The National Workers Union can assist you in running compensation claims. Contact us and make an appointment. Find out more.


NWU Solidarity Network