PSA, Chamber accept new covid19 measures

THE Public Services Association (PSA) and the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Wednesday acknowledged the Health Ministry's announcement of new regulations to curb the recent increase in covid19 cases.

These included no public gatherings for entertainment and concerts, the public service returning to 50 per cent office attendance on a rotational basis, congregations at places of worship being reduced from 50 to 25 per cent and weddings and funerals being limited to ten people.

The PSA and the Chamber asked the Government to make certain considerations.

PSA president Watson Duke said reducing the public service to 50 per cent attendance on a rotational basis "is an initiative in the right direction." But he added, "It it does not go far enough. Rotation cannot be done willy-nilly. It cannot be done based on spasms or knee jerks."

Duke said it must be done in an organised way.

"We do not want to have a situation where one group of workers are exploiting the rotation while another group is being disadvantaged by it."

He called on the Prime Minister, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh or another appropriate government minister to "direct the conversations in such a manner that it becomes a bilateral decision between the employer and the union representing the employees.

Duke cautioned that if this is not done, it would be a recipe for chaos.

"In time past you had one group benefiting tremendously from rotations and persons not being rotated at all."

He suggested in the public service, "every circumstance should be examined individually" in terms of rotation. The rotation does not apply to the private sector."

TT Chamber CEO Gabriel Faria said the Chamber recognised the need for these measures.

"Many private-sector organisations have implemented the required safety measures to keep their staff and customers safe."

Faria appealed to the wider business community and the public "to increase their vigilance," saying everyone has a role to play in saving lives and livelihoods.

He also said, "We hope the Government would reconsider providing financial support to the businesses which have been affected, with many of them closed for over a year and many others operating unde restrictions."

Faria expressed concern about the presence of the Brazilian covid19 variant in TT, given the country's closed borders. "We trust that the relevant authorities are closely monitoring this."

He also said the Chamber looked forward to "updates on the delivery of additional (covid19) vaccines."