A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday said that the restoration of the long withheld subvention to the Critchlow Labour College could be a step towards healing wounds.
APNU parliamentarian Carl Greenidge, during a press briefing said that the withdrawal of the subvention “is entirely a political matter. It is part of the army of tools that the government is using to weaken the power of the unions and to penalize those unions that have a link with the PNCR in particular.”
He said that given the acrimony in the labour movement, it would be a good sign if the government could show the way forward by restoring the subvention and “taking some steps to heal the wounds between the various parties”.
Greenidge at the time was responding to a question on the issue. He said the reaction from some quarters was that Critchlow was getting money since it was renting its premises to a university. “But there was no rational or detailed response or justification articulated for not providing the money,” he stressed.
According to him, the issue of Critchlow is important in regard to training and education but it doesn’t seem to matter to the government that the institution has provided a very important function to those who are in the labour movement and members of the general population. He said he was certain that the government was aware of the significant proportion of the working population who has done well after having passed through Critchlow.
Meanwhile, another APNU parliamentarian, Volda Lawrence, said that several budgets ago when the subvention was cut one of the reasons given was that the institution’s accounts were not up to date and that it had lacked the capacity to show transparency in the manner in which these monies were spent. She said there was even talk of audited reports being provided.
“We have seen that nothing has been done… to bridge the gap with Critchlow,” she said, adding that if one reads the Auditor General’s Annual Report it is clear that several other agencies receiving subventions from government are also in arrears in terms of “putting their financial house in order and presenting audited reports.
“One thing goes for Critchlow but it doesn’t go for the other agencies. Herein lies the government’s inconsistencies. This is a political decision to stifle the college and stifle those who would be able to move on to higher learning through programmes…,” she said
Later, Lance Carberry, adding his voice to the issue, said the government is seeking to undermine the labour movement.
