Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago) - Unrest in Country and Party

Unrest in Country and Party

Independence left the two main industries, sugar and oil in the hands of foreign multi-national corporations (Tate & Lyle in sugar, Shell, British Petroleum and Texaco in oil). The labour unions interpreted this as evidence that the PNM and DLP leadership had sold out to foreign corporations. George Weekes, an anti-PNM Afro-Trinidadian trade unionist, gained control of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union, while Krishna Gowandan challenged Bhadase Maraj's leadership of the All Trinidad Sugar Estates and Factory Workers Union. In March 1965 15,000 sugar workers went on strike. Williams responded by declaring a State of Emergency and suspending civil rights. This brought the Afro-Trinidadian-dominated Trade Union Congress into alliance with the (Indo-Trinidadian) sugar workers.

In response to labour unrest in 1965, the PNM government introduced the Industrial Stabilisation Act (ISA), which banned strike action in the public service and restricted the use of strikes and lock-outs in private industry. In the spirit of democratic socialism Stephen Maharaj instructed his MPs to vote against the bill. However, two Members of the House (Ashford Sinanan and Lionel Seukeran), and all four Senators voted in favour of the bill. This led to a split in the party, with three separate wings vying for power. The centrist wing was led by Vernon Jamadar, the radical wing by Stephen Maharaj and the conservative wing by Lionel Seukaran and Ashford Sinanan. Maharaj, as Leader of the Opposition, attempted to remove the DLP Senators and replace them with leftists C.L.R. James, George Weekes (both Afro-Trinidadians), Adrian Cola Rienzi (an Indo-Trinidadian and former ally of T.U.B. Butler in the Labour riots of 1937), and Jack Kelshall (a white Trinidadian socialist and former advisor to Cheddi Jagan).

As Leader of the Opposition, Maharaj had the ability to appoint and dismiss Opposition Senators. In June, in response to the failure of the DLP Senators to oppose the ISA, Maharaj wrote the Governor General Sir Solomon Hochoy and asked him to revoke the appointment of the Senators and replace them with James, Rienzi and Clive Phil. Instead, based on the advice of the conservative wing of the party (which had the support of four MPs), Hochoy revoked Maharaj's appointment and replaced him with Simbhoonath Capildeo (Rudranath Capildeo's older brother).

Throughout all this Rudranath Capildeo remained party leader. He had selected Maharaj to be Leader of the Opposition and had opposed the ISA. However, rather than take a side in the dispute he remained vague, until he returned from England in July. Upon arrival he denounced Simbhoonath Capildeo as the main troublemaker in the party, and accused him of hiring a hit man to kill him. He met with Maharaj, James, Kelshall and Rienzi and promised to mobilise the DLP to oppose the ISA. The following day he denounced James, Maharaj and Rienzi of plotting against the interest of the party. He dismissed his brother as Leader of the Opposition and replaced him with Jamadar. In response to these actions, the DLP split again. Stephen Maharaj formed the Workers and Farmers Party (together with Weekes, James and a young Basdeo Panday), Simbhoonath Capildeo resigned from the DLP and joined the Liberal Party and Lionel Seukaran became an Independent. This left the DLP and the Liberals each holding four seats, the WFP holding one, and Seukaran holding the other as an Independent. Seukeran formed the Seukeran Independent Party (SIP) as a means of organizing his supporters.

The 1966 General Elections allowed the DLP to return to its position as the sole opposition party. The DLP won 12 of 36 seats. The WFP, SIP and the Liberal Party failed to win any seats. Rudranath Capildeo's continued absences led to his seat being declared vacant in 1967. When the DLP chose to boycott the by-election in protest, Bhadase Sagan Maraj was able to return to Parliament by winning the seat as an Independent.