Dear Editor,

Mr. Martin Roberts in his letter captioned ” I still say Ms. Burton should indicate what her plans are” (08.01.14) is being dishonest when he claims that he did not resort to gender when he attacked Ms. Burton. He did so subtly and I simply made it clearer. His congratulations were not sincere and that has been betrayed in the tone of his letter.

He must know that the GTUC is not a trade union but is made up of several trade unions from which the GTUC derives its strength. It would have been better for him to call on the Presidents of the individual unions to recommit themselves to the cause of fighting for workers’ rights. This lack of commitment which currently pervades the movement is the number one reason why the movement is the way it is. Workers are aware that some union leaders now are more interested in what they can get and not what they can do for the general membership.

His point that the movement will be weakened if the gender game is played is ridiculous. The movement is already weak and nothing can do more damage than the confusion that occurred on May Day last year and this was carried on the different newscasts. What the movement needs to do now is to take a serious look at itself and to get rid of those leaders who are corrupt. It should not tolerate them any longer. It is only when this is done that workers can truly get what they deserve.

Ms. Burton has done a wonderful job running her union and she leads from the front.

Not all the leaders of the movement can say that. She must not be the only one called upon to account but all those who currently hold offices and continue to parade themselves as leaders interested in addressing the many problems faced by workers.

Yours faithfully,

Samantha Ali