BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) is calling on regional leaders to recommit to the principles of “respectful engagement, collective responsibility, and meaningful consultation” within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the wake of the ongoing spat involving Caribbean leaders and the future direction of the 15-member grouping.
In a statement, the CCJ, which is the voice of organised labour representing workers and trade unions across the Caribbean, has expressed deep concern regarding the “tone and implications of statements made in the public domain” by the Trinidad and Tobago prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne in relation to CARICOM, regional ties and international partners.
In recent days, Browne has called on Persad-Bissessar to “produce the evidence” that CARICOM, including Antigua and Barbuda, had aligned itself with “the Maduro narco government headed by a dictator” in Venezuela.
She said that Venezuela has been threatening to invade Guyana for years, and since last June, they began making similar threats that Trinidad and Tobago are a part of Venezuela.
“Yet CARICOM has chosen to support the Maduro narco government through the fake zone of peace narrative, which is clearly designed to get the American military to leave the Caribbean region and therefore enable Maduro to remain as dictator in Venezuela.
“An organisation that chooses to disparage our greatest ally, the United States, but lends support to the Maduro narco-government headed by a dictator who has imprisoned and killed thousands of civilians and opposition members, as well as threatened two CARICOM members, is one that has clearly lost its way,” Persad-Bissessar said in a statement.
“My priority is in the best interests of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” she added.
In its statement, the CCL said it is of the firm view that this public exchange risks undermining regional cooperation and solidarity “at a time when Caribbean working people are already confronting profound economic, social, climate-related, and security challenges.
“In such circumstances, unity, restraint, and constructive dialogue are essential to safeguarding regional stability and advancing the collective interests of Caribbean citizens.”
The CCL said that it “further emphasises that regional consultation and the articulation of collective CARICOM positions do not constitute hostility toward international partners.
“Constructive, respectful, and mutually beneficial engagement with allies such as the United States can and must coexist with robust regional dialogue, cooperation, and solidarity. Unity among Caribbean states should never descend into ideological posturing; rather, it must be grounded in strategic necessity and a shared commitment to protecting the rights, dignity, and livelihoods of Caribbean workers and communities.”
The CCL said that it has consistently advocated for “reform, transparency, accountability, and People-centred governance across the region.
“At this critical juncture, Caribbean workers require leadership that prioritises cooperation over division, consensus over confrontation, and social and economic justice over political posturing.
“The Caribbean Congress of Labour, therefore, calls on regional leaders to recommit to the principles of respectful engagement, collective responsibility, and meaningful consultation within CARICOM. The strength of the Caribbean integration movement lies in its ability to resolve differences through dialogue and to present a unified front in defence of the region’s people,” the CCL said, adding it remains steadfast in its commitment to “a reformed and strengthened CARICOM that truly serves the interests of Caribbean people and protects the dignity, rights, and livelihoods of workers across the region”.
and then  is calling on regional leaders to recommit to the principles of “respectful engagement, collective responsibility){kind=link}