TTUTA disgusted over stalled salary talks

President of the TT Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai says the union is planning a demonstration for July 3 to protest the non-commencement of salary negotiations for the period 2014 to 2017.

Addressing a professional development workshop for teachers, on Friday, at the Tobago Nutrition & Cooperative Society Building, Canaan, Tobago, Doodhai said the protest will be held outside the office of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), St Vincent Street, Port of Spain.

He said the move is intended to "completely display our disgust reading the non-commencement of negotiations and the disrespect shown to the TT Unified Teachers' Association."

"We are going to send a strong message to the CPO (Beresford Riley) that the disrespect to TTUTA cannot continue any longer and to in effect commence negotiations for a new collective agreement for the 2014 to 2017 period."

Doodhai said, however, he hopes the protest would be a last resort as the association, through its general secretary Fitzroy Daniel, has already written to Finance Minister Colm Imbert to determine whether instructions were given to the CPO to begin negotiations.

The TTUTA leader said if no response is forthcoming from the minister "within a reasonable time," the union would consider approaching the Industrial Court to file an industrial relations offence against the Government for failing to address the issue of salary negotiations.

Updating teachers on the status of the negotiations, Doodhai said the association had submitted proposals to the CPO since November 2015.

He said the union eventually met with the CPO on January 4.

"The CPO indicated that by February 2019, their counter-proposals would be submitted. But to date, after almost five years, the association is still to receive any counter-proposals from the chief personnel officer."

Doodhai added: "At that meeting and even in meetings prior to that, the CPO maintained that no mandate, no instructions were received from the Minister of Finance with respect to the commencement of negotiations. His promised submissions of counter proposals by February 2019 has not materialised to date, five months after the promised date."

Doodhai said at a meeting of the union's general council, last Saturday, members expressed frustration that no counter proposals were received from the CPO.

"We considered that the Minister of Finance is still, as far as we are aware, to give any instructions and mandate to the CPO. Of course, the general council was not in a very good mood. the general council was incensed, angry of the seeming lack of respect to the association by the government, employer and chief personnel officer."

Doodhai said teachers are currently working on 2014 salaries.

"We recognise the frustration of teachers. We recognise that teachers are getting angry, they are getting demotivated due to the non-commencement of salary negotiations."