Unions reject Imbert's wage increase offer: Don't force 5% on us

TRADE unions are rejecting the Finance Minister's public offer of a five per cent increase for the January 2020-December 2022 bargaining period.

During his budget presentation in Parliament on September 30, Colm Imbert said he had instructed the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) to start wage negotiations with public-sector unions with a five per cent offer.

The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) was among the first to reject what it termed "negotiations by public decree.

"This notion by the Finance Minister, and by extension the government, to publicly state a final offer in the public domain and to believe that the association would accede to this offer is outrageous and callous," TTUTA president Martin Lum Kin told Newsday on October 1.

Teachers, police, prison officers, the defence force and daily-paid workers got their last salary increase of four per cent for the January 2014-December 2019 period.

All the representing unions, with the exception of the Public Services Association (PSA) and the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), accepted the offer. Those two matters are before the Industrial Court as a dispute.

Imbert said that while the four per cent offer was not a lot, considering it was for a six-year period, it was all the government could offer at the time, and this was done at a cost of over $1 billion in back pay and increase in recurrent annual expenditure by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most workers, except those represented by the PSA and NUGFW, have received their increases and back pay.

Urging the PSA and NUGFW to accept the offer and move on, Imbert said he could not allow these two unions to delay continuing negotiations for the next bargaining period, and has instructed the CPO to make the necessary preparations to start negotiating with those trade unions which accepted the previous four per cent and offer five per cent for the new period.

“For this next three-year period – 2020-2022 – the government, even in the face of our challenging financial circumstances, has decided to offer public-sector workers an increase of five per cent.

“This increase is estimated to cost the government an additional $475 million per year in recurrent expenditure, with back pay up to the end of 2024 estimated at over $1 billion. It will be difficult to find the money to make these payments, but we think it is only fair and just.”

Lum Kin accused government “of seeking to circumvent the established methodology of bilateral negotiations between the CPO and the relevant recognised association."

Critical of the method used to start negotiations, Lum Kin said, “One must be reminded that the established methodology of the external labour market survey which does not utilise the percentage increase, but closure of the gap in the market has been recognised by the CPO as the best method of salary negotiations.

“TTUTA calls on government to desist from this unacceptable approach and to return to good industrial relations practice.”

Prison Officers' Association president Gerard Gordon told Newsday the union will not negotiate with the Finance Minister.

In an interview on October 1, Gordon said, "We are not falling into that trap he set the last time around. We negotiate with the CPO."

Gordon said the association looks forward to starting the next round of negotiations with the CPO.

Asked to comment on the Finance Minister's announcement of a $2 increase for minimum-wage public-sector workers, Gordon said it was a ploy to divide workers. The public-sector minimum wage will now be $22.50 per hour.

"Generally, the budget was not impressive. A number of key issues continue to impact the man on the street."

Gordon said prison officers also face a number of outstanding issues, including long-standing overtime arrears, medical releases, uniforms, repairs and refurbishment to prisons.

Chief education officer of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ozzi Warwick said the executive of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) spent the evening discussing the budget and the "tone in which it was delivered by the Minister of Finance."

JTUM said its executive will present its response in a press conference on October 3 but it was very unhappy with the budget.

"JTUM is very disturbed by the manner in which the Minister of Finance is attempting to negotiate in the public domain," Warwick said.

Fire Service Association president Keone Guy was also unhappy with Imbert's announcement.

"Not only because it is inadequate given the economic climate, but because it demonstrates a blatant disregard to the principles of collective bargaining, which demands a fair, transparent, respectful negotiation process."

Guy said Imbert's announcement "flies in the face of what is provided for in law."

PSA president Leroy Baptiste, in an interview on October 1, told Newsday the public was "desperate" for relief from poverty.

"All he (Imbert) is doing is taking advantage because he knows people are ketching their tail and they would just grab at what little bit they get, because they would be in a further state of depression come Christmas season."

He said the $2 increase for minimum-wage public-sector workers does not match the needs of those workers.

"We know for a fact where there is poverty, where there are depressed neighbourhoods, there is crime and criminality, all over the world. And what you have in this country, 70 per cent in this country living below the poverty line, and people are wondering why crime and criminality are non-stop."

Political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah also accused government of “playing a very dangerous game in trying to divide the labour movement and workers.

“Workers have to realise where their interests lie, and not succumb to party politics.”

He said the trade unions were within their rights to challenge what went before the special tribunal of the Industrial Court and not accept the four per cent offer.

“The chair of the special tribunal made it clear that once the matter came before him, the four per cent would not be over two three-year periods (six) years, but two five-year periods (ten years).

“The PSA challenged that because the CPO was attempting to browbeat and drive an agreement without any understanding or appreciation of collective bargaining.

Abdulah said it is left now to see if the CPO would be flexible and engage in proper collective bargaining with the unions that would make counter offers or stick with their five per cent and say, “If you don’t like it, go to the courts, which is what happened on the last occasion.”

Newsday e-mailed the CPO's office and was told the CPO declined to comment on the Finance Minister's announcement. No further information was given.