Raphael John-Lall
raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
The country’s workers and trade unionists are celebrating another Labour Day in the middle of economically difficult times and in the middle of some of the most important wage negotiations in years.
Fire, police, prison officers and public servants received their last salary increases in 2013.
In May, Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Daryl Dindial made an offer of two per cent over the period of eight years to public servants, firefighters, police officers and prisons officers.
The first offer was as follows– 2014-0, 2015-0, 2016-0, 2017-0, 2018-1, 2019-0, 2020-0, 2021-1.
A fire officer, who spoke to Guardian Media anonymously and has been in the service for almost 20 years, gave an account of how hard life has been for the last eight years with no salary increase.
He recounts that over the years he has gone out to fight fires, delivered babies in ambulances and he has been knocked off his feet by an exploding gas tank yet after all he and other fire officers have done, the Government does not recognise their hard work and they are not properly compensated.
He has a wife and four children who depend on him for financial support.
“My wife has a job too but I am the main breadwinner in the home. My basic salary per month is $9,200 and then there are allowances which is about $2,000 monthly. We lose some of these allowances when we go on vacation. These include house, meal and driving proficiency allowances. I do two additional tasks which is an extra heavy driver and I’m also an emergency medical technician.”
He said he has been living on the same salary for the last eight years and life has been very difficult for him and his family.
“I’m a frugal person. I have had to make several adjustments last few years. My monthly grocery bill is over $3,000. Because of this high bill I had to cut back on certain things. Eight years ago, when was the last time I had a salary increase, my grocery bill was $1,500 month and it covered everything. It doubled over that time. I no longer look for brand names, I find the cheapest oil and I buy it. I buying less chicken and more pork. Other things I cut back in my life is cable TV and all I have now is bare internet. I saving $335 now. I cut out liming as I can’t even afford a proper beer. My wife and I had date nights, all that gone now as we have no money.”
He also said they had two cars and last November they sold one vehicle to save money.
“My daughter goes to University of the West Indies (UWI) and I redirected some of the funds from selling the car for my daughter at UWI. Things are just getting harder.”
Driven by the need to survive and earn money he said up until recently he used to “pull bull” or use his car as a taxi. He has also come up with other creative ways to earn money.
“I also worked in my off days in the oil sector doing emergency coverage in the area of fire and rescue. Of course, we’re not really supposed to do that. When the pandemic hit that work on the side started to slow down. So at this time is just the fire service salary that I and my family live on.”
He also spoke of another financial commitments he has which is a mortgage of $4,500 monthly and he added that he just finished paying off for the vehicle that he has.
He laments that the Government is “cold and cruel” and does not care about the country’s workers.
“The Government has been disrespectful to fire officers after everything that we’ve done. In the past if we’re injured, the state would pay for our medical at private clinics, now we only get covered in the public hospitals. It’s the same thing with dental and eye care. Now, it’s the frozen wages for eight years. The Government is not rewarding our hard work.”
Challenges faced by fire, prisons, police officers
President of the Fire Service Association (Second Division) Leo Ramkissoon told Guardian Media that the four per cent salary increase counter offer over a six-year period they received last week is “unacceptable” especially given the health challenges officers face.
“Prices of food are increasing, the cost of living is going up. Officers face health challenges because of the excessive prolonged exposure to the toxins contained in some of the most basic fires like rubbish heaps and so on and the frequency which fire officers inhale them. People in this profession tend to die a lot faster than most other members of the public. In this job, you are signing up to give away part of your life. By the time they retire, many fire officers end up with cancer, testicular cancer, prostrate cancer among other problems.”
He added that the CPO’s offer amounts to a salary cut for fire officers because of the high rate of inflation over the last few years.
He said the Fire Service Association originally made an offer of 14 per cent for the period 2014 to 2016.
He also gave an idea of the salaries fire officers earn.
Fire officers who enter into the Fire Services earn roughly $6,000 monthly before tax in addition to other allowances which are taxed such as $300 for driving proficiency and a monthly meal allowance of $600.
For senior officers, their monthly salaries are just over $10,000.
He estimates there are about 2,200 fire officers in T&T.
In May, the Prison Officers Association met with members who rejected the CPO’s offer when the association’s president Ceron Richards called the CPO’s proposal “disrespectful.”
The Prison Officers’ Association initiated discussions for the 2014 to 2016 period, however, the CPO’s proposal was for 2014 to 2021. This too was rejected in the union’s meeting.
Ceron told Guardian Media they asked for a market shift which is the gap between where their organization is and where the market is and according to their estimate it is between 20 per cent to 22 per cent.
He estimated that for officers just entering the service they can start with $7,000 monthly, while officers in the higher grades get monthly salaries of $13,000 and over.
He also estimates that there are about 2,800 officers in the T&T Prison Service.
He said prison officers’ most pressing needs are they need bigger salaries to build or buy houses, they need to buy food for their families and they need to send their children to school.
Police Social and Welfare Association president Inspector Gideon Dickson said police officers continue to suffer from poor wages and working conditions as the last time they got a salary increase was in 2013.
“Police officers have to face struggles like everyone else. Gas prices gone up, food prices gone up. It’s difficult to get a home. We’re all facing hard times. Officers have had to withstand the inflation and the economic hardships,” he lamented.
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CPO’s offer
Last week, they received a counter proposal of four per cent from the CPO.
The negotiations are for the periods of 2014 to 2016 and 2017 to 2019.
Dickson said the membership asked for 15 per cent for the first three years – 2014, 2015, 2016 and 12 per cent in the next three years – 2017, 2018, 2019 .
He said, “So whereas before we were offered two per cent over an eight-year period (2014 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021), we were given an offer of a four per cent increase for a six-year period – 2014 to 2016 – at two per cent and 2017 to 2019 at two per cent.”
He said they have two weeks to respond and in that time they will meet with their membership, as well as meet with the consultant to determine the way forward.
He gave an idea of how police officers are compensated.
A constable, who now enters the T&T Police Service (TTPS), earns $6,734, a Corporal earns $7,607, a Sergeant earns $9,102 while an Inspector earns $10,776 monthly.
These are all salaries before taxes are applied.
They also receive allowances such as meal and house allowances.
He described the TTPS as having a cadre of highly qualified and trained personnel yet they are poorly compensated for such a difficult job.
He said, “They are getting these salaries and are expected to put their life and limb on the line against criminals. The level of responsibilities and the levels of duties that police are called upon to do is captured by how they are compensated. No once has benefited from salary increases beyond 2013.”
