Lead Editor-Politics
akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt
With the Public Services Association (PSA) not ruling out protest action over outstanding backpay, the Personnel Department is reminding unionised workers that the State has other bills to pay.
In a pointed message amid ongoing negotiations over how the billions in arrears should be settled, the Department said the Government must balance the needs of workers against those of the wider country, stressing that “the State’s responsibility extends beyond any single group of persons.”
The message came in a four-minute video posted on the Office of the Chief Personnel Officer’s social media pages on Friday.
It comes as the CPO and PSA remain at odds over the cash component of the outstanding backpay settlement.
The State is offering to pay 40 per cent of the arrears in cash and the remaining 60 per cent through non-cash options, while the PSA wants the formula reversed, 60 per cent cash and 40 per cent non-cash.
Without specifically mentioning the PSA or the ongoing negotiations, the Personnel Department said every decision taken by the Government must balance workers’ needs with its responsibility to serve the entire country.
“The Government must ensure that resources are distributed across the many needs of the nation. Healthcare, education, national security, infrastructure and social support are a few of the many factors which must be taken into account with every budget decision.”
The Department said Trinidad and Tobago, like many countries, continues to face economic pressures, pointing to rising global prices and fluctuations in the oil and gas industry.
As a result, it said the Government must carefully manage national resources to ensure critical services remain available to citizens.
The Department also sought to assure public servants that offering non-cash benefits should not be interpreted as an insult to their work or what is owed to them.
It explained that the options are intended to provide meaningful benefits to workers while reducing immediate pressure on the national budget, citing possibilities ranging from mortgage assistance to transportation services and healthcare benefits.
The Department acknowledged that many workers would understandably prefer to receive their arrears entirely in cash and noted the position held by workers and unions that “cash is property.”
However, it argued that there could be circumstances in which a mixture of the two is beneficial.
The PSA settlement involves approximately $3.8 billion in backpay, of which $500 million was paid as a cash advance last December.
The NUGFW’s settlement is valued at about $2.6 billion, with non-cash options also forming part of its package, while teachers have begun receiving approximately $900 million in backpay for the 2020-2023 period.
Gonzales: Where is the rest of the damn money?
Opposition MP and People’s National Movement chairman Marvin Gonzales has weighed in on the PSA dispute, accusing the Government of short-changing public servants who had waited years for their money.
“In simple terms, every $10 owed to a public servant in backpay, only $4 will be paid in their hands in cash,” Gonzales said in a video statement.
“That is not what workers were banking on.”
Gonzales argued that public servants were facing rising food prices, Government fees and National Insurance contributions at the same time they were being offered only 40 per cent of their arrears in cash.
“They weren’t waiting years for a non-cash option. They were waiting for their money,” he said.
He also took aim at PSA president Felisha Thomas over her handling of the negotiations.
“Meanwhile, Felisha could dance with the Government, but public servants are left facing higher prices, higher fees, higher NIS contributions, and only four dollars in cash for every ten dollars of backpay.”
Gonzales added, “Public servants have every right to ask this Government and Felisha, where is the rest of the damn money?”
