Retired fire officers protest over unpaid allowances

Retired fire officers staged a protest outside the Wrightson Road Fire Station in Port of Spain over the removal of their meal and housing allowances.

The protest, which took place on Tuesday, aimed to address the officers' grievances regarding the loss of their benefits.

Speaking to Newsday during the protest, Fire Service Association president Leo Ramkissoon expressed unwavering support for the retired workers.

He said, "This represents a significant sum of money that would have been denied their rightful earnings. It has been determined in the Ministry of National Security that it was wrongfully done and they were owed the money and they are to be paid, which they are rightfully entitled to." Ramkissoon said the Ministry of National Security had recognised its error and pledged to rectify the situation. However, he accused Chief Fire Officer Arnold Bristo and other officials of dragging their feet on the matter, prompting the retirees to protest.

He said protest action would continue until a satisfactory resolution was reached. He said, "We could only deduce at this time that they are hoping that we die off and the payments never made. And therefore, the officers are out here today demanding that this money be paid and we are announcing that this will be a sustained effort."

One retired officer, Kurt Duncan, who spoke to Newsday during the demonstration, said the loss of benefits has burdened him financially. He said he had been surviving on a monthly income of just $3,500 since the meal and housing allowances were stopped.

Duncan said, "It's really hard. It's really hard. I joined the service in 1990, right after the coup and then I became a fireman in 2003. We signed a contract stating that we get all our privileges as firefighters. Which is meal allowance, house allowance and all that sundry. It was stripped away from us unceremoniously."

The protesters said their demonstration reflects their unwavering determination to seek justice and have their concerns addressed immediately.