[UPDATED] Callender calls out 'non-paying' PSA candidates

Less than a month before the Public Services Association's (PSA) internal election, candidate Nixon Callender is calling on the union's election officer to take swift action against candidates who have not paid their membership fees.

He told Newsday on Wednesday during a media conference outside the PSA's building, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, he had received information suggesting some members of other contesting teams were delinquent in paying their dues.

But, in a voice note posted to a WhatsApp group, the union’s incumbent president Watson Duke dismissed Callender's allegations as "mischievous" and contended that there were no legal grounds for him to make such an accusation.

Callender, the head of Team Sentinel, one of five teams contesting the PSA's leadership, cited the union's by-laws to say members who were not in good financial standing were ineligible as candidates.

"One candidate on the Labour Warriors team, after filing her nomination papers, it was discovered her dues were missing.

"For another candidate on the Premium Value team, it was also discovered that dues were missing.

"But perhaps the most damaging one is the member on Duke's Game Changers team who is a candidate with eight months' dues missing, which under our by-laws disqualifies them as a member of the PSA."

Callender said he would hand-deliver a letter challenging the nomination of these candidates to PSA election officer Selwyn Malcolm later that day and urged the union's general council to take his concerns seriously.

He also criticised the vetting process for potential candidates, noting that such irregularities should have been flagged by the union's committee before they were allowed to become candidates, and questioned the transparency of the procedure.

"This situation speaks to the ineffectiveness, the inefficiency and the poor management in this PSA from top to bottom.

"It's almost as if anything the Watson Duke executive and his team has their hands in cannot go in accordance with any law or by-law."

This story has been updated with additional details. Below is the original story.

Less than a month before the Public Services Association's (PSA) internal elections, candidate Nixon Callender is calling on the union's election officer to take swift action against candidates who have not paid their membership fees.

Speaking with Newsday during a media conference outside the PSA's building, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, on Wednesday, Callender said he had received information suggesting some members of other contesting teams were delinquent in paying their dues.

Callender, the head of Team Sentinel, one of five teams contesting the PSA's leadership, cited the union's by-laws to say members who were not in good financial standing were ineligible as candidates.

"One candidate on the Labour Warriors team, after filing her nomination papers, it was discovered her dues were missing.

"For another candidate on the Premium Value team, it was also discovered that dues were missing.

"But perhaps the most damaging one is the member on Watson Duke's Game Changers team who has a candidate with eight months' dues missing, which under our by-laws disqualifies them as a member of the PSA."

Callender said he would hand-deliver a letter challenging the nomination of these candidates to PSA election officer Selwyn Malcolm later that day and urged the union's general council to take his concerns seriously.

He also criticised the vetting process for potential candidates, noting that such irregularities should have been flagged by the union's committee before they were allowed to become candidates, and questioned the transparency of the procedure.

"This situation speaks to the ineffectiveness, the inefficiency and the poor management in this PSA from top to bottom.

"It's almost as if anything the Watson Duke executive and his team has their hands in cannot go in accordance with any law or by-law."

Newsday tried to reach Duke for response but was unsuccessful.