TTUTA readying for protest, court action

JAMES LANSER

PRESIDENT Lynsley Doodhai said the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) will march outside the Chief Personnel Officer’s office on July 3 at 9.30 am in response to salary negotiations which started five years ago.

TTUTA has also requested information pertaining to the negotiations from the Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Doodhai threart, if the information is not granted, further legal action is will follow.

At a press conference on Monday, Doodhai said TTUTA is willing to go to court over teachers’ salary negotiations for the 2014-2017 collective bargaining period.

“The association submitted proposals for salary increases and for a new collective agreement for our members since November 2014,” Doodhai said, but had received no counter proposals in February as promised by the CPO at a meeting in January.

TTUTA issued a press release statin that it has written to the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert asking whether or not instructions have been given to the CPO to commence the salary negotiations.

TTUTA says if no response is received from him within a reasonable time an industrial relations offence in the Industrial Court will be filed due to a “failure to meet and treat for the purpose of collective bargaining.”

“Government, as employer, cannot simply avoid salary negotiations solely on the basis of a difficult economy. It cannot avoid its responsibility to bargain in good faith even as it has begun to talk of economic recovery.”

The protest outside the CPO’s office will consist of TTUTA council members, but Doodhai believes many teachers may join although regulations bar protests.