An apparent rift between two executive members of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) came to a head on Tuesday, February 22, when a press conference was interrupted by the Union’s President, Wigley George.
Reports are that Hugh Joseph, the General Secretary, had convened the meeting to address the issue of the union’s leadership and to seek clarity about logistics for a special conference on Wednesday.
Additionally, the press conference was intended to address the election of a new executive.
However, it appears that a certain faction of the executive was not invited to the press conference, and some complained that they were left out of the process for tomorrow’s event.
George reportedly walked into and disrupted the press conference, demanding to know who had given permission for the event to be held. Following an exchange between him and Joseph, reports say, George then left the event.
Joseph has expressed the view that he is deliberately being marginalized by some members of the Union.
Meanwhile, Ralph Potter, the Union’s Industrial Relations Officer, confirms that Joseph is being left out of certain processes. But he says he cannot go into the details of what has created the rift among executive members.
Potter says, further, that he could not explain why only certain members of the executive had been invited to the press briefing.
In the meantime, a social-media post is alleging that Prime Minister Gaston Browne is making good on earlier threats to have certain members of the Union removed.
Likening the current situation to the 1967 incident in which George Walter, Donald Halstead, and Malcolm Daniel were dismissed from the same union by V.C. Bird, Senior, the post claims that Browne is “engineering a plot to dismiss several executive officers of the AT&LU because they are deemed to be out of step with his wishes.”
It alleges that the Prime Minister is displeased that the Union is agitating “on behalf of disadvantaged workers.”
When Government workers were sent home as a result of the controversial vaccination mandate last September, Browne made it clear that he was upset by the Union’s challenge of his dictate in the court. He accused the AT&LU of breaking ranks with the Government and declared that some members of the executive, including George, were “unfit for purpose.” Further, he said that by its next convention, the Union needed to change its leadership. (REAL NEWS)
In September 2021, PM Browne made his dissatisfaction with the AT&LU clear.
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Time Longer than Rope! It comes calling for everybody. Stress, $cheming and sleepless nights can age you in short time.
Always remember which came first! The union was formed first. The ALP is the political arm of the union. V.C. Bird organized it that way, and so it remains. Stop all the bickering and get back to the founding principles. The ancestors are watching.
Is the Unity of Labour still the salvation of this country? 🤔
Only God knows.
…School children say,
…at the end of the day,
…it’s the #Gaston vs #Asot factions
at play!
…gearing up for the Convention,
…but, according to PM Browne
…this will never happen
…not before the Elections
…and, he’s jamming to Discp Dumplin
…all over, St. John’s Towne!
Tyrant, Traitor,Self Enricher.
You and your family wagon is full and loaded .
Antigua worst head of State ever.
Bad roads.
Terrible infrastructure
Water
Light
Jobs
I visited Antigua and could hardly get work done reliably because the internet is at subpar level at best
Seriously what has this guy done in all the years ? Answer NOTHING . Oh well I guess Liat
The Internet is 100 times better than when UPP was here- we live here everyday and what you’re saying and 🐃💩 is the something.
Inet home Internet was like 3 hundred dollars monthly for the slowest home Internet of all the ISP under the UPP but now INET is the cheapest and fastest home Internet in Antigua and Barbuda because ABLP
You must go
Hey “Belive it”…For your information, the Hon. Gaston Brown is NOT the Antigua “Head of State”. We are a constitutional monarchy and Elizabeth II is the “Head of State”, and the Governal General is her representative. Even he is not the “Head of State”. He is only the appointed representative of the “Head of State”, who is Elizabeth II, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda. The Hon. Gaston Brown as Prime Minister is the Head of Government but NOT the Head of State. Like it or not, that’s the way it is. Read your Constitution.
Why does Gaston think he should control everything? The government should not be involved in union business. It may have started out that way but that must change. The unions are suppose to advocate for the workers and not for any employer. If government can dictate to the union, then there is no union. What a bully and dictator. It is like this, do as I say or I will destroy you.
Anriguans and Barbudans need to turn away from this dictator and his goons and vote for freedom before it is too late. Do not be fooled by the monies that they offer you for your votes because those ill gotten gains cannot buy back the freedom that would have been taken from you.
It is illegal to take money for votes and gifts too. Yet both political parties and politicians have done it. That is why I am voting DNA this time around.
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