Caption: TTSIDA President Alan Ferguson, centre, flanked by David Abdullah, left, and TTSIDA Vice President Erros Seejattan, is calling for an urgent meeting between the Association and Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj. AZP News/Alicia Chamely
By Alicia Chamely
WHY is it so hard for the scrap iron industry to get the recognition and attention it needs?
This was the question posed by President of the Trinidad and Tobago Scrap Iron Dealers Association (TTSIDA) Alan Ferguson on Wednesday, after senior members of TTSIDA delivered a letter to Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Satyakama “Kama” Maharaj demanding an urgent meeting.
Speaking to the media outside of the Ministry’s head office at Nicholas Tower, Port of Spain, Ferguson said it was “a sad in Trinidad and Tobago” as all scrap yards in T&T were forced to close their gates today due the government’s failure to extend their Scrap Metal Licenses, which expired at 12 midnight Wednesday.
Ferguson said the association had delivered a letter to Maharaj demanding an urgent meeting, noting the industry provides employment for vulnerable citizens and with the industry having to close they have no way to earn a living.
He said, “Why today do we have no extension, why today did we have to close our yards? The only way this can be rectified is for the government to sit down with us and work with us.”
He added, “To the minister of trade, I am saying we need to do better! We need to see you! Why is it now so hard to sit down and meet us to sit down and work with us, an industry of poor people.”
@azpnews.com TTSIDA President Alan Ferguson calls for a meeting with Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj after licences to sell scrap iron expires. Video: Alicia Chamely @ttsida_tt @kamamaharaj #ttsida #license #expiring #meeting #tradeandindustry
Comparing the treatment of the scrap iron industry to that of public servants, a frustrated Ferguson said, “Why is it so hard for this industry to get what it wants! We are not asking for a 10% raise! All we are asking is for you to sit down with us and work with us to change the ills in this industry. How hard that is?”
Ferguson said the scrap industry was a private sector industry and needed to be treated as such in terms of the government granting them the necessary legal provisions to operate.
“We need a meeting with the minister of trade,” he said, “We cannot wait!”
Noting the TTSIDA had first met with Maharaj in May, he said, “We want to work with the government to fix this problem. We had written a letter more than a month now, asking for another meeting to be able to clear and rectify all the issues because the Minister, in the first meeting we had with him, recognized that the industry needs some urgent importance, to take care of.”
Ferguson added, “He recognized all that, and today, we are still facing the same problems we had since 2023, when the previous government shut the industry down.”
Vice President Erros Seejattan said the TTSIDA was looking for answers as to why licenses were not extended or renewed.
He said Divali was one of the industries busiest seasons, but without being able to operate dealers were being deprived of much needed income.
Trade Unionist and former Senator David Abdullah, joined with the TTSIDA, whom he said were members of civil and labour group the People’s Round Table.
Abdullah said, “In our Budget submissions as the Round Table, which we sent to a number of government ministers, including the Minister of Trade, we identified the scrap iron industry as a very important industry for T&T.”
He said beyond providing employment to those who would have a difficult time finding jobs elsewhere, the scrap iron industry was known as an earner of foreign exchange.
Abdullah said additionally the industry creates what was known in economics as a “multiply effect.”
He explained the industry creates opportunities for other industries to earn, such as transportation industries and the shipping industry.
Abdullah joined with the TTSIDA in calling for the government to meet with the Association urgently and reopen the industry.
