Senior Political Reporter
“Increased cost of living payments for 3,000 T&TEC workers for Christmas!”
That’s what Government has achieved with an agreement with the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union, providing new COLA payments for weekly and monthly paid T&TEC workers from this week onwards.
This is in addition to $131.2 million in retroactive payments, also coming between this month and February 2026.
“Promises made, kept, and delivered! Workers will be getting money for Christmas!” Couva South MP and Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath declared in a statement to Parliament yesterday detailing the settlement.
“What this Government has achieved isn’t merely a financial settlement; it’s a restoration of dignity and fairness to approximately 3,000 workers sidelined for a decade.”
Padarath said decisive action taken by the Government settled a matter that remained unresolved for nearly a decade “due to the chronic inaction and neglect of the former PNM administration.”
Padarath said, “COLA payments to workers represented by the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union were frozen since 31 December 2015 under the PNM. From then, thousands of T&TEC workers were left receiving an outdated COLA amount of $1,720.86, while the cost of living, food prices, utilities, transportation, and every household necessity continued rising.
“Despite clear provisions under the Collective Agreement requiring the adjustment of COLA based on the Retail Price Index, the previous administration failed to honour, negotiate, and act. For 10 long years, workers waited while the former government allowed negotiations to stagnate and permitted industrial relations at T&TEC to deteriorate.”
Padarath said that on assuming office, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar directed him to address the matter urgently and comprehensively. On September 17, the OWTU wrote the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission demanding settlement of the issue.
He said his ministry’s team initiated intensive discussions with T&TEC and the OWTU.
Padarath said that at approximately 2 am on November 13, 2025, T&TEC and the OWTU signed a Memorandum of Agreement, “an historic, long-overdue breakthrough that restores fairness to workers.”
The agreement provides weekly-paid workers with a new COLA of $5.75 per hour, raising the total COLA to $15.64 per hour. Effective November 20 and payable from December 4.
It also provides monthly-paid workers with a new COLA of $1,000.50, raising the total COLA to $2,721.36. This is effective December 1 and payable from December 17. “More workers will be getting money in their pockets for Christmas under this administration,” he interjected.
Padarath also announced payments “long denied by the PNM,” involving retroactive COLA payments totalling $131,125,076.23, to be disbursed in four tranches between this month and February 2026.
Padarath said, “The former administration allowed the Estate Police officers’ COLA matters to languish as well. This Government will now treat with the Estate Police Association (EPA) promptly, with the same transparency and urgency we’ve brought to the OWTU’s matters.”
