One arm of the protective services has accepted the CPO’s offer of four per cent.
The Office of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) said on Friday that the T&T Defence had accepted the offer for the periods 2014 to 2016 and 2017 to 2019.
In signing off on the offer, Chief Personnel Officer Daryl Dindial thanked Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel, and the Vice Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Dexter Francis, saying they and the TTDF “were able to balance its expectations with their key goal of enhancing the operational requirements of the Force.”
The CPO said the discussions were “difficult and often tense.”
However, he said the TTDF “demonstrated the remarkable trait of compromise, understanding and strategic thinking in the discussions.”
The TTDF is not represented by any of the major unions, nor is there an association in the same vein of a Fire Officers’ Association or Police Service Social and Welfare Association. Defence Force officers are represented by its Pay Review Committee.
According to the CPO’s release, the Defence Force bargained beyond salary and pushed for improvement of its operational capabilities, attracting and retaining talent.
“A major strategic area of focus by the TTDF was strengthening its air capability to conduct search and rescue, reconnaissance and surveillance missions,” the release said.
This was done through allowances for its instructors, radar operator/technicians, dog handling, its permanent reservists, frontline operators engaged in Inter-Agency Task Force and maritime duties and pilots and aviation engineers.
The Defence Force also received consideration for a Special Missions Allowance for regional operations. Defence Force officers have been deployed to The Bahamas following the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and St Vincent in 2021, when the La Soufrière Volcano erupted.
They’ve also signed off on compensation for a part-time “Strategic Think Tank.”
According to the CPO, this is “intended to support the development and modernisation of the TTDF to improve on the delivery of its mandate, treat with new and emerging threats, the development of doctrine, its military justice system, wellness system and revised recruitment, performance management and training standards.”
Both of these allowances remain subject to Cabinet approval.
The release ended saying, “Dr Daryl Dindial recognises the critical role of the military in many aspects of our nation’s development, ranging from youth development, deploying to support our neighbouring countries in times of disaster and humanitarian relief and supporting law enforcement agencies with internal security. The CPO thanks the members of the TTDF for their continued selfless devotion to duty in the protection and defence of our nation’s sovereignty in one of the noblest professions, the profession of arms.”