PSA president maintains 4% offer unfair, unjust, unacceptable

PUBLIC Services Association (PSA) president Leroy Baptiste has maintained that the government’s four per cent salary offer for public sector workers is “unfair, unjust and unacceptable.”

But he said any decision by the PSA to accept or decline the offer “in time” will be put before the union’s general council.

Baptiste was responding to the Fire Services Association’s decision to accept the government’s four per cent offer.

The association’s executive (first and second divisions) accepted the offer on Friday after an emergency meeting with Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Dr Darryl Dindial.

A statement from the CPO’s office said the association signed a memorandum of agreement covering salary increases for 2014-2016 and 2017-2019.

Apart from the salary increase, the association also signed off on improving allowances and revising some current benefits applicable to its members.

These include allowances for protective suit maintenance, house and meal, travelling and facilities among others.

In a Sunday Newsday interview, Baptiste said he believes unions are settling because they fear being forced into the ten-year agreement, implemented by a Cabinet-appointed special tribunal, that would have taken away their ability to collectively bargain from 2020 and beyond.

“Therefore, unions have opted for ‘live to fight another day kind of thing’ rather than risk the imposition of a ten-year settlement,” he said.

“That’s why people have been signing. They rather take a six years because they, in fact, will be able to continue to collective bargain for the next four years rather than have the special tribunal impose and take away from them the right to collectively bargain for them for the period 2020-2024.

Baptiste added, “Due to that all the unions would have essentially opted for accepting what still remains an unfair, unjust, unacceptable four per cent with a view of ‘live to fight another day’ and they would continue to settle the 2020-2024 period via collective bargaining.”

Saying he bears no ill feelings for the unions that have accepted the offer, Baptiste said from where he sits there are other fundamental issues that must be addressed.

“We (PSA) are still in the court and as much as I would stand for a principled position, I don’t readily accept that the special tribunal has that power. So those things have to be treated with at the court.

“I am still of the firm view that it is manifestly unfair to impose this four per cent on workers. It has no business whatsoever in treating with the workers’ issues. And even worst than that is the fact that they are not consolidating the cost of living onto workers’ salaries. But I will always be guided by my general council at the end of the day.”

Baptiste acknowledged that some members will be inclined to accept the offer “because its real people and it must be difficult for public officers to see all around them persons essentially have caved in for ‘live to fight another day.’

“That is part and parcel of what we are treating with and we will make a decision in time. We still at the court and I will take it to the members.”

He believes, however, that unions have so far, buckled under the pressure being imposed by the special tribunal.

“The word ‘accept’ almost connotes like you have reflected and deemed that this four per cent is good enough. It is not a case of that. It is literally shoved down, almost blackmailed.

“It is as if people are saying that it is a choice between two extremely negative outcomes and people are opting for the four per cent as being a preferred negative outcome. It is not about acceptance in the sense of you negotiate and people believe it is an acceptable settlement with compromise. It is nothing like that at all.”

Baptiste said the PSA will again meet with the special tribunal on June 15. It is being chaired by former Point Fortin MP Larry Achong.

National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) president general James Lambert also weighed in on the Fire Services Association’s decision to accept the four per cent offer.

He told Sunday Newsday, “We have a different take to fire services and police because they are essential services. We are daily rated. We don’t receive salaries. We receive wages.”

“Maybe those fellas who take that four per cent it might be good for them because they are on a salary range and the amount of allowances and travelling they get, they might be able to deal with that. But when you talk about a worker who getting $2,000 a month and you give him four per cent and how it is spread out.”

Like Baptiste, Lambert believes the unions that have accepted the four per cent were forced to do so.

He said the government has never indicated how it arrived at the offer.

“You have not brought anything on the table, saying it is because of the economic situation.” Lambert also observed that the Prime Minister has never met with the union leaders to negotiate.

“He gone on the platform with all he PNM members and say, ‘Allyuh take the four per cent and if things get better you may get something. Call the leaders and say X, Y, Z as the case might be. So we are saying as daily rated workers, let the court decide because we have an argument different to what prisons, fire and the others have.”

The Fire Services Association is the latest union to accept the four per cent offer.

The police, prisons and the TT Unified Teachers Association have already accepted for two negotiating periods, 2014-2017 and 2017-2020.

There are also three unions that are involved in daily-rated public sector negotiations: Amalgamated Security; TT Contractors Association; and NUGFW. Of the three, only Amalgamated Security has accepted the four per cent offer.