National Workers Union (NWU) presidential aspirant, Danny Roberts, says that this month’s election for the post will be the “most fundamental and significant” in the union’s history.

“This is the most fundamental and significant election ever in the union’s history because, for the first time, the candidates have differences over matters of strategic importance which have implications for how the organisation evolves over the next five to ten years,” Roberts told the audience at the recent launch of his campaign at the Alhambra Inn, Kingston.

Roberts, an NWU vice-president, and Vincent Morrison, the union’s long-standing island supervisor, are to square off at the biennial congress on September 30 to replace current president Clive Dobson.

Roberts said that the delegates are going to be confronted with choices as to the kind of presidency they desire: a ceremonial president who largely chairs meetings; or a transformational president who sets the ideological rudder and provides a road map for the future.

Roberts claimed that Morrison had suggested that the role of the president was to “preside over meetings of the union” a position, he said, he disagreed with.

However, Robert’s main area of contention was that by adding the position of president to Morrison’s current position of island supervisor, would be “concentrating too much power in one man’s hands”. He quoted Lord Acton as saying, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

He said that the drafters of the NWU Constitution had deliberately set up a triumvirate so as to avoid the concentration of powers in a single hand.

“The intention was to prevent any notion of a proprietary relationship in the union, and to ensure that propriety and effective management be maintained. Too much power in a single hand could lead to corruption of one kind or another.

And so, in their wisdom, the founding fathers established a triumvirate to avoid all the pitfalls that come with absolute power and to recognise the value and strengths within the organisation,” he said.

“We would not in any organisation support one person holding two jobs, if there are other persons with proven skills and competence to do the second job,” he added.

Roberts launched the programme for the campaign, which has the slogan YEAH, an acronym for “Youthful, Experience, Ability, Honour.”

“YEAH will come to mean, yes Danny Roberts for president,” The NWU vice-president added.

He said that the president of the union should be able to talk to the media on any subject; represent the union in public forums and debate on issues of globalisation, regionalism, the WTO negotiations and social security.

“I want to make it clear that the role of the president is not about organising, because some people are of the opinion that the role of the president is an extension of the role of island supervisor. This is not so. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

“If ever there was a time when it was absolutely necessary to have the kind of transformational leadership that can take us forward it is now. it is now more than ever that we need a president with the knowledge of global and regional affairs and the ability and competence to express this publicly on behalf of the organisation,” Roberts added.