TWENTY years of fighting for the rights of domestic and low-income workers in TT has taught Ida Le Blanc one valuable lesson – the struggle is never over.

And as evidence of her commitment to the cause, Le Blanc, general secretary of the National Union of Domestic Workers (NUDE), will be heading to Antigua on June 19 to attend a conference hosted by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), of which NUDE is a member.

The IUF, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a federation of trade unions with members in various parts of the world, including the Caribbean.

The theme of the conference is, IUF Caribbean Defending Workers’ Rights in a Post-Pandemic World. It is being held at the Antigua Trades and Labour Union Hall from June 20-24.

Of the event, an excited Le Blanc told WMN, “We will be strategising with other trade unions from around the Caribbean on how we can move forward as a team as we learn from each other and to build power amongst us to face this new world of work that covid19 has forced us to live in where most of our terms and conditions of employment have been shifted or lost and our livelihood and hard-won gains taken away.”

She said while she regrets not being able to march with her trade union colleagues and workers at the Labour Day celebration, the Antigua conference would offer strategies for addressing the plight of domestic and low-income workers, post covid19.

“It is hard (being away from Labour Day celebrations) but it is necessary. It (Antigua conference) will be a way forward for us because there is a lot of work to do.”

[caption id="attachment_960526" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ida Le Blanc has participated in many international programmes to lobby for the fair treatment of women in the workplace. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]

As NUDE general secretary, Le Blanc, 66, has experienced first-hand the challenges confronting domestic workers in this country and the wider Caribbean.

She said the union’s office at Wattley Trace, Mt Pleasant, Arima, is usually overwhelmed with phone calls from distressed workers requesting assistance on a range of grievances, including unfair dismissals, maternity protection and violation of the minimum wage.

Many of the stories, she said, are heart-breaking.

“Domestic workers are still suffering daily in the workplace we call home.”

Increasingly, Le Blanc said domestic workers from within the migrant population are also reaching out to them for help.

She said, “Domestic workers coming from Caricom islands are reporting that the ‘Venes’ (Venezuelan migrants) are getting better treatment and the Guyanese are complaining that are treated like outcasts.”

Many workers have also complained about being forced to work six days a week for three days pay while overtime is paid in days off instead of cash, Le Blanc added.

“They cannot challenge the employers because they will be fired and they have to pay for their rent and/or furniture that they have taken o