Sascha Wilson
Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
The Contractors and General Workers Trade Union (CGWTU) is demanding that the San Fernando City Corporation begin calculating outstanding backpay owed to daily-paid workers.
CGWTU president Ermine de Bique-Meade accused the corporation of treating daily-paid workers as the “bastard children” while giving preferential treatment to monthly-paid workers.
In an interview with Guardian Media, de Bique-Meade recalled that the collective agreements for 2014 to 2016 and 2017 to 2019 were signed on April 24, 2025, and earlier this year, workers received their new wage rates.
She said the Government would have given the City Corporation a directive to begin making the necessary preparations for the payment of backpay.
While management has completed calculations for the outstanding backpay for monthly-paid workers, de Bique-Meade said this has not been done for daily-paid workers.
“So, where we would have seen that the Government would have indicated that they put $900 million as it relates for payment of the backpay for the teachers, TTUTA, nothing has been said as it relates to the daily-paid workers of the San Fernando City Corporation.”
Claiming that daily-paid workers at the corporation are being treated unfairly, she said monthly-paid workers received a percentage of their backpay in December after signing their agreement in late November or early December 2025.
While the CGWTU signed its agreement in April 2025, she said the union was still waiting for management to complete the necessary calculations.
“San Fernando City Corporation is stifling the preparation of the backpay for the daily-paid workers,” she said, noting that the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) sent the documents on March 19 for the corporation to begin preparations for the workers’ backpay.
Complaining that daily-paid workers are fed up, she called on the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and CPO to intervene.
“We are calling on the Minister of Finance, we are calling on the CPO, Dr. Commander, to intervene and instruct San Fernando City Corporation to put whatever is needed to start and complete the calculation of the backpay for the daily-paid workers.”
She said, however, that the calculations for monthly-paid workers would be different from those for daily-paid workers.
“It is not straightforward because we have workers sometimes working in two, three different categories, classifications. And if you never worked on a back pay before, it will be challenging and it will be a longer process.”
She said the union would not allow daily-paid workers to be treated unfairly.
When Guardian Media contacted the office of the SFCC, chief executive officer and the CPO, someone answered in both instances and indicated that they were in meetings. Messages were left for both officials, but there was no response up to press time.
