About 200 retirees from Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) say they currently have to survive on less than $1,000 in pension per month.
This despite an over $700 Million surplus in the pension plan which was started years ago by employees.
The pensioners have been protesting their low-paying pensions for years and again took to the streets outside of TSTT’s Edward Street office in Port-of-Spain to call on the company to treat them better.
Communication Workers Union (CWU) Secretary-General Clyde Elder told Guardian Media that the former employees have been suffering for far too long.
He said the State now needs to amend the pension laws so retirees can have peace of mind and the ability to sustain themselves through their old age.
“We need to change the pension laws, we need to revamp the pension laws, we need to address those pension laws because until we don’t, pensioners will not get the justice they deserve,” Elder said.
He said the amount paid in pension is usually two-thirds of the last salary paid to an employee before they retire.
But in the case of the men and women who were employed with the Trinidad and Tobago Telephone Company Limited (TELCO) and retired years ago, that last salary did not amount to much.
He appealed to TSTT increase the amount paid, saying pensioners had also lost a lot of the purchasing power they once had with their money.
“Some people’s pension for the month is just about $500, some is $800, some just about $1,000, in this day and age, that cannot be right and on top of that, there is enough money in the plan to ensure they get an increase in their pension,” Elder said.
Elder said TSTT told the union in previous conversations that the pensioners should apply to the state for government pensions.
One pensioner, Reginald Thompson said he does not even get the $3,500 pension that citizens get from the state when they retire. He said pensioners are struggling to pay their medical bills and keep food on the table with the meagre pensions.
“Pensioners cannot see about their health, they cannot take care of their standard of living, their standard of living has gone beyond poverty,” Thompson said.
Guardian Media reached out to TSTT for a response and the company said the CWU has been invited to a meeting to discuss the issues related to the pensioners and the Pension Fund Plan for December 17.
TSTT said it remains committed to working with the union for the wider benefit of its employees and the organisation.