No money, no vote

Newsday, Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday, October 25, 2007

No money, no vote

By Newsday Reporter 

(Extract): The All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union in August 
successfully completed its negotiating on behalf of daily-rated employees of 
the Visually Impaired/Blind Welfare Association of Trinidad and Tobago. In the 
case of the Blind Welfare the workers received a 15 per cent wage increase over 
the next three years, with improvements in cost of living allowance (COLA) of 
85 cents per hour on a daily basis and other fringe benefits like meal 
allowance. 

Thursday, October 25 2007

"NO GOVERNMENT in an election year likes to know it is up against the wage 
negotiation ropes and in full glare of the media, with cameras rolling," 
according to one financial analyst whose comments come in the wake of 
industrial negotiations that keep popping up everywhere. 

But that is exactly where this Government has found itself and the unions are 
brutally forceful, given their blunt awareness of the leverage they wield, 
knowing that the electoral stakes are extremely high. 

The feeling is that if Government, represented by the Chief Personnel Officer, 
Narieman Hosein-Ahmad, her extended team and its Ministers of Finance had 
negotiated packages within deadlines, unions would have had much less clout, 
since many of the packages were long overdue by about two years, another 
analyst pointed out. 

The bigger picture, according to observers, is that trade unions and government 
paid workers in Trinidad and Tobago are using the elections as leverage, 
threatening to withhold their votes from the ruling party if their 

outstanding salary negotiations are not completed before the November 5 general 
elections. 

Just last week and at the height of the election season, bus drivers at the 
Public Transport Service Commission (PTSC) staged a "sick-out protest" which 
crippled the transport system. Hhundreds of commuters who rely on buses, found 
themselves stranded and in desperate search for alternatives to get to do their 
daily routine: school, transact business or to get to hospitals and clinics. 

President of the Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) Port of Spain 
branch, Brian Johnson, the bargaining unit for PTSC workers, indicated that the 
action was taken to demonstrate workers' growing disssatisfaction. 

"Negotiations started last month but the corporation has been unable to 
continue due to a lack of information on the part of the Chief Personnel 
Officer," Johnson said. PTSC workers are demanding a 35 per cent increase in 
salaries for the 2006/2008 period. 

As if the country's landscape could not be littered enough with protests, 
operations at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad 
and Tobago (COSTAAT), also grounded to a halt last week, as lecturers and 
administrative staff including technicians, librarians and 

cleaners staged a noisy demonstration at the college's Port of Spain campus. 
Their grouse ? They denounced the submission of a proposal by COSTAAT 
management to the CPO, without their consultation. 

Then, Oilfield Workers Trade Union president, Errol Mc Leod offered the 
protesting workers, who are not yet unionis representation under the OWTU. Last 
week also saw National Maintenance and Training Security Company (MTS) workers 
staging massive protests, as they too called on Government to "fairly treat" 
with their salary increases, given inflation and the spiralling costs of 
consumer goods and services. 

PICKETING TRAFFIC 

Recently too, the voices of scores of workers at the Trinidad and Tobago 
Electricity Commission could be heard by anyone in the vicinity of Park and 
Frederick Streets, Port-of-Spain as they stood outside its renovated flagship 
customer service centre lamenting stalled negotiations concerning their 
2006-2008 collective agreement. 

Air traffic controllers have also been picketing for increased wages. In 
September the Civil Aviation Authority workers staged protests during their 
lunch-breaks outside their Piarco offices. To get the message across to its 
line Ministry, Works and Transport, approximately 30 employees took to the 
sidewalk at the Ministry's Port-of- Spain headquarters to protest a delay bythe 
Public Sector Negotiating Committee and other stakeholders to revise their 
salaries. 

Public Services Association (PSA) representative, Augustine Mc Intosh at that 
protest said there had been no revision of salaries since the Authority was 
transferred to the public sector in 2003. 

"Since then public servants have enjoyed increases in 2004 and for the 
2005-2007 period which means the employees at the Authority are 40 per cent 
behind the public service in terms of wage increases," Mc Intosh said. And so 
the list of those dissatisfied with collective agreement negotiations goes on 
and on. 

But the sometimes tumultuous picket action, with debilitating side effects, has 
paid off for some, notably teachers, who one financial analyst insists, have 
gotten one of the sweetest deals. 

After months of wrangling over salary negotiations, the Trinidad and Tobago 
Unified Teachers' Association(TTUTA) and the CPO finally reached agreement. The 
two came to agreement after TTUTA and other unions with outstanding 
negotiations with the CPO, embarked on a massive "Unity in Action" march which 
lasted five hours. 

TTUTA SWEETNESS 

As the workers took to the streets, TTUTA president Clyde Permell and other 
officials were simultaneously meeting with the CPO. Two weeks ago, over 12,000 
teachers pounded the streets, demanding settlement of their 2005-2008 wage 
negotiations before the elections. 

Union leaders representing other government-paid workers who took part in the 
protest demonstration blatantly reminded the Government that "workers are 
voters," and warned that all negotiations should be concluded by October 12. 

A day later after the massive protest demonstration, Prime Minister Patrick 
Manning announced that settlement was reached on the teachers protracted 
negotiations. It will now cost the Government an additional US$40.3 million 
from December for the new salaries for teachers. 

In a signing ceremony between the Chief Personnel Officer and the teachers 
union over the new salaries package, Public Administration Minister, Dr Lenny 
Saith noted that government's settlements with various unions during the past 
two years amounted to over US$316 million. 

When the dust cleared, Permell said that TTUTA was able to secure increases for 
teachers at grades three and four, representing 100 per cent of the external 
labour market. Teachers at grade one got salary increases representing 88 per 
cent of the external labour market, grade two, 81 per 

cent, grade five, 95 per cent, grade six, 90 per cent, grade seven 86 per cent, 
grade eight, 84 per cent and grade nine, 83 per cent. 

He also announced that principals and vice-principals were awarded a commuter 
travel allowance of $500. Workers at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) 
have also seen the fruits of intensified picketing in 2007, with its bargaining 
union, the National Union of Government and Federated Workers, headed by Robert 
Giuseppi, also sealing the deal with attractive increases for workers. Then, 
full-time monthly paid staff at the National Insurance Property Development 
Company last week received a 15 per cent salary increase, which covers a three 
year period. The increases also include benefits such as cost of living 
allowance, travel, subsistence and meal allowances. 


And last July the PSA and North West Regional Health Authority officials lauded 
the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for revised salaries and COLA for all 
monthly paid employees as a "historic event". 

'NO MONEY, NO WORK. NO MONEY, NO VOTE' 

In an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner, Stephen Thomas, Acting president of 
the PSA said outstanding negotiations for workers of the Airports Authority, 
Civil Aviation Authority, National Insurance Board and Housing Development 
Corporation "must be settled" before the election. The thee-year period for 
collective agreements being negotiated will expire in December. 

"We are of the view it is immoral for Government to abdicate its responsibility 
to treat with the legitimate demands of these workers for salary adjustments 
via the free collective bargaining process and then ask the same workers to 
come out and vote for any political party," Thomas said. 

President of the Communications Workers Union, John Julien, in the article was 
quoted as saying that the union would have to "step up" its action before the 
election day as it demanded settlement of collective agreements for workers at 
the Trinidad Hilton hotel and Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and 
Tobago. Fire and prison officers are also protesting the delay in settling 
their wage negotiations. 

They've held protest action outside the office of the Chief Personnel Officer, 
singing, " "No money, no work. No money, no vote" 

Economist Mary King said it is the norm in local salary negotiations for these 
to be dragged out. 

"People seem to like having a back pay, enforced savings, to splurge on things. 
But if this is drawn out too long they lose on taxes. The recent negotiations 
have indeed been going on too long and there is surely some pressure being put 
on the government to settle before the elections and some move by the 
government to look responsive if not really in fear of losing votes, " King 
told the Gleaner. However, she said the ruling party has an entrenched 
constituency and does not depend on the swing vote to win an election. 

ELECTION PACKAGE 

Political Analyst, Derek Ramsamooj said unfortunately, there is a sub-culture 
in terms of labour relations in the Caribbean throughout history where the 
majority of public servants negotiate the best possible package during an 
election year. "It is also practised by incumbents using state patronage to 
influence the outcome of voting. It is typical in this case, " said Ramsamooj 
referring to the settlement of the teachers wage dispute. " It's all about 
retaining government. The economic decision making is driven by the political 
desire to hold office so they appease the workers who are voters," Ramsamooj 
told the paper.  Noting previous calls by the Central Bank for wage restraint, 
King said higher wages will indeed increase government spending and if allowed 
by the Central Bank, to increase liquidity which will push inflation. "The 
Central Bank would have to take it out as quickly as possible, restrain the 
velocity of the circulation of this money." "We have been able to rest
 rain inflation somewhat in the face of government spending because the Central 
Bank has been freezing money through an increase in the reserve requirements of 
the commercial banks and its increase in sales of US dollars up from US$700 
million four years ago now at US$2.09 billion, " she said. 

The economist, according to the article, said inflation was being driven 
primarily by the government spending in Trinidad and Tobago. 

"Government budgeted spending, funded by increased petroleum prices and 
production, has almost tripled in the last six years. Though food prices are 
being forced up by import pressures, these are being exacerbated by the high 
liquidity in the country and naturally food is the target of markup inflation 
because of its low elasticity of demand." 


http://www.newsday.co.tt/businessday/0,66753.html
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