Roget: UTT aborts meeting

A meeting between union and management to discuss the fate of workers at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) was aborted yesterday owing to the latter’s ability to give details of staff earmarked for retrenchment, alleged Oilfield Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) head Ancel Roget.

He spoke to reporters outside the Ministry of Education, Port of Spain, after an aborted meeting with UTT officials and Education Minister Anthony Garcia.

“They came today ill prepared, so this morning’s meeting had to be aborted.”

“The UTT board says the Human Resources Department is not efficient, yet the department is producing numbers to say workers should go home.”

Roget feared budget cuts would have a “devastating impact” on UTT.

“As the Government chops up UTT, they reduce its capacity to deliver on its mandate, to educate and to produce qualified young professionals.”

Roget alleged the UTT had engaged in a witch-hunt against certain staff. “The UTT gave workers a letter of investigation. Today the minister announced that he had told UTT to withdraw those letters.”

Roget said retrenchment hurts families and communities, and curtails UTT’s mandate. “It’ll be like hell in TT if the Government continues to send workers home.” He urged the Government to view labour’s economic plan as an alternative to sending workers home. “We’ll grow our way out of the crisis.”