Duke declares war over CPO zero per cent offer

Public Services Association (PSA) President Watson Duke has declared "war" and pledged to take to the streets in response to a zero per cent offer from the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).

He was speaking on Monday during a media conference outside PSA's offices in Port of Spain.

He reported late last week the PSA received a written offer from the CPO saying the salary increases for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 would be zero, zero and zero respectively.

"That is an offer the PSA rejects in face of gas prices and diesel prices increasing tremendously and affecting all goods and services. In the face of NIS increasing. In the face of 7,000 items that was once zero rated now attracting a VAT of 12.5 per cent. In the impending face of property tax that is set to be brought before Parliament this week by a bill on Thursday that will see commercial properties being taxed five per cent their annual rent and private properties three per cent their annual rent we have thrown our hands in the air and said 'it cannot be business as usual.'"

He said the PSA planned to take to the streets very early in May and also criticised the planned property tax.

"We will not allow the Minister of Finance to impose upon the citizens of this country a vexatious property tax."

He said with the property tax increases biscuits, Crix, salt fish, transport and everything else will go up again while the PSA members are living with an income that is fixed to the year 2013.

Duke said the workers also want retroactivity with the zero per cent just as there was to be retroactivity with property tax.

"If the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister want war then they have brought PSA out of their comfort zone...and we are saying the war is coming. We the public servants of this country, we the essential service of this country, we are saying it will be blow for blow, punch for punch, flush for flush."

He said the PSA planned to take to the streets very early in May.