Disappointment marked the faces of five labour associations as they emerged from the Industrial Court yesterday afternoon.
The T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Prison Officers Association (POA), Fire Service Association (FSA), T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association and the Public Services Association (PSA) were all summoned to appear before the tribunal, after wage negotiations were referred there by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
During the case management conference yesterday, they all asked that the matters be taken to conciliation stage instead, so that they can keep talking with Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Dr Daryl Dindial with the third-party involvement (usually the Labour Ministry).
However, attorney for the CPO Seenath Jairam SC, rejected the idea, as he had no such instructions.
The court was then left with no choice but to begin setting trial dates because conciliation has to be voluntarily agreed to by both parties.
TTUTA members walked out of the court dejected.
“We are not happy people today,” Kyrla Robertson-Thomas said.
The immediate past TTUTA vice president said the move seemed like an effort to frustrate workers and this was not a good way to end the year. She said teachers would not be pleased.
The PSA meanwhile questioned the haste and insistence on having the matters heard in a trial rather than continue talking.
President Leroy Baptiste lamented that cost of living continued to rise for workers.
“And someone is playing games with the lives of workers because it suits them that they could start negotiations when they want, they could stop when they want, they could send it in the court when they want because the masses, we have to take that,” he said.
However, the associations representing the protective services were convinced their members would not accept this latest development.
POA president Ceron Richards pointed to the fact that there was hope for further bargaining after Minister Imbert’s statement to the Parliament.
“We are very disappointed that there is no option at all for conciliation, it meant that the minister (Imbert) would have in some part misled the public,” he said.
That frustration was echoed by his comrade Leo Ramkissoon, the FSA president. He said his association now has a tough task of facing its membership to explain the way forward.
“How do we now convince fire officers to continue to put forward their best?” he asked.
It is this morale Police Service Social and Welfare Association president, acting ASP Gideon Dickson, said would be affected in the T&T Police Service as well.
While he explained that he was not taken aback by the Government’s move, he said he was disheartened it was not operating in good faith.
“This does nothing for the morale of the police officers. We continue to work under extenuating circumstances and what you would have heard coming from the court today does not do anything good for police officers,’’ Dickson said.
He said his association will be engaging members in two weeks and the public will be informed of the outcome afterwards.
The wage negotiations were referred to the tribunal after the Government’s four per cent offer for the years 2014 to 2019 were repeatedly rejected by five representing associations.
The hearings begin from January 2023.