(Trinidad Express) Public servants defied the police and risked arrest on Tuesday, when they formed a human barricade at the public entrance of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) and later converged near the Parliament’s entrance at the Red House, even as the government announced its final offer to the union for the settlement of terms and conditions of employment for the period 2008-2010.
And while the government has indicated it will not budge from this offer, president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke is adamant that his members will not accept it.
The PSA has until today to officially respond to the new offer. The offer made to the union for the three-year period is: 2008, two per cent; 2009, one per cent; 2010, two per cent.
This is a shift from the official original offer of one per cent. In previous negotiations, Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis had presented the union with an “unofficial” five per cent offer—2008, zero per cent; 2009, zero per cent; and 2010, five per cent—for immediate settlement.
The new offer includes the consolidation of the existing Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of $125 per month with salary as at December 31, 2007, and a new COLA allowance of: 2008, $125; 2009, $125; and 2010, $135. Public servants are also being offered a $2,000 lump sum.
In a press advertisement yesterday, the Ministry of Finance gave examples of what the new offer will look like for public servants.
For example, a Clerk 1 (Range 14), who has an existing salary of $3,768-$4,455, will receive an increase to $4,091-$4,813, a backpay of $9,348-$10,188 and a $2,000 lump sum, for a total backpay sum of $11,348-$12,188.
Duke, however, has rejected the offer as an insult.
“The government has insulted us for yet another time. What the CPO said to us is things hard the government forcing to find money to pay. I say they are looking for a war and I hope they are prepared for it,” Duke told the Express. He said the Red House will now become the residence of the public servants until they are given a double-digit offer. Up to Tuesday evening, members of the union were still camped outside Parliament.
At 9 am on Tuesday, Duke led the protest from outside the Ministry of Finance east along the Brian Lara Promenade and on to the Eastern Main Road. He then entered John John, Laventille, and continued until the tanks on the hill in Picton. The union leader, however, did not initially indicate to protesters that he was venturing into the hills of Laventille and many of them stopped and returned to the city when they realised where he was heading.
On his return to the city, Duke led his members to the entrance of the CBTT. He and the executive members of the union then sat in front of the doors of the bank and locked arms. Employees of the bank and heavily armed security guards looked on at the protest from inside the bank.
Police officers from the Guard and Emergency Branch then poured into the courtyard of the financial complex and surrounded the protesters.
On several occasions the senior officer in charge at the scene, Supt Brian Headley, asked Duke to move from the bank’s entrance.
The union leader refused to follow these instructions and told Headley he would have to arrest him if they wanted him to move.
Eventually, the protesters did move to St Vincent Street, where Duke met the CPO and learned of the government’s latest offer. After his meeting with Lewis, Duke told protesters he was heading back to the Brian Lara Promenade and would address them there. However, during the march, he turned back suddenly to Knox Street and entered the compound of the Red House, surprising police officers and causing them to scamper to secure the area.
Senate was in session when the chanting of the protesters outside Parliament prompted Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi to come downstairs. Later on during the tea break, Al-Rawi, along with leader of Opposition Bus-iness in the Senate Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, greeted Duke and the latter indicated to the union leader that she had raised the issue of the protest during her contribution to the Senate.
Speaking to the media, Beckles-Robinson said the union needed to ask the government why it was constructing a billion-dollar highway instead of giving the union a favourable offer.
“If it is that you can’t offer more than five, then let us know what it is, because we know right now oil has been increasing, we know what was the budgeted figure and we know that it is going to one hundred-plus, which is even better than a couple years ago,” Beckles-Robinson said.
“We would recall that very often government would accuse Mr Manning of prioritising infrastructure and not dealing with the needs of the people. So I think this is a legitimate question that the public servants need to ask. Is it that a highway is more important than the public servants?” Duke vowed to continue fighting for a better offer and insisted that the upcoming Carnival break will not deter him or his members. He warned that flights at the Piarco International Airport would be disrupted in the coming days and that his union would stage further demonstrations even on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
