FRIDAY, February 4 marked another dark day in the history of trade unionism in Trinidad and Tobago. Imagine the president of the TT Unified Teachers' Association, the diminutive Antonia Tekah-De Freitas, stands alone in front of the Financial Towers at 12.20 pm on her way to deliver a letter of dispute to the Minister of Finance on the reopening of schools.

The issue deals with the Minister of Education's dictatorial and disrespectful attitude and intent on trampling on the terms and conditions of teachers under the guise of the covid19 pandemic. Additionally, the Ministry of Education has reneged on an agreement established between the ministry and TTUTA in 2016 as it pertains to the supervision of the Secondary Entrance Examination.

This agreement was implemented by the ministry through the office of the Chief Education Officer. Without any attempt to negotiate with the recognised majority union, the ministry (as has become the recent norm) decided that it would revoke the established practice without consulting the association.

It must be noted that the Ministry of Education cannot simply have the CPO make a pronouncement on the matter, then issue unilateral instructions. Section 74(E) of the Education Act clearly presents the responsibility of the ministry to 'meet and treat' with the recognised majority union on matters related to education. Furthermore, over the years TTUTA has engaged in bilateral discussions with various ministers of education on matters affecting students and education.

Though not always smooth sailing, those discussions occurred with the understanding that meaningful consultation and a close working relationship were crucial to ensuring the sustainability of quality education in this country.

This is the first time that a sitting minster of education has not truly engaged in meaningful discussions with the union. Rather, the minister has taken the dual approach of using publicity activities to generate negative public perceptions of the union, while at the same time holding fast to her position that TTUTA will be told what it needs to be told.

The action of the ministry mirrors the actions of the State in other sectors. When one examines the current industrial relations climate in TT, a relentless attack on the trade union movement is beginning to emerge. The closure of Petrotrin and the firing of over 8,000 citizens signalled the beginning of this attack. It was followed by the so-called staff audit of WASA which is intended to fire a few thousand workers. Imagine even prior to the audit being implemented it was announced that people would be fired.

The attack didn't end there as the Minister of Public Utilities turned his guns on TSTT. The creation of Amplia was a signal to all that the attack on the Communication Workers Union had begun. The employees of Amplia have inferior terms and conditions to those of the employees of TSTT while the management of both companies enjoy similar benefits. The present situation has seen over 500 people dismissed with a further 450 to