PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The final secretary of the Nationwide Commerce Union Centre (NATUC), Michael Annisette, on Tuesday known as on the Trinidad and Tobago authorities to rescind a choice to ship house greater than 10,000 staff employed beneath the Neighborhood-Primarily based Environmental Safety and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).
The employees acquired their termination letters late final month, and the estimated 360 contractors had been additionally knowledgeable of the quick termination of their contracts.
The Kamla Persad-Bissessar authorities, which got here to workplace on April 28 following the final election, has accused the previous Folks’s Nationwide Motion (PNM) administration of corruption throughout the programme.
Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath said that the contractors had been employed for an extra three years, simply earlier than the final election, which raises severe questions on impropriety.
“It raises severe questions as to why the Cupboard was not consulted or sought approvals regarding tens of millions, if not billions, of {dollars} in authorities expenditure for over three years.
“The earlier authorities saved asking us the place all the cash comes from. Due to this fact, what they sought to do was to commit us to a few expenditures within the monetary years of 2026, 2027, and 2028 with out figuring out the place the funds are going to return from,” he added.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Utilities, Clyde Elder, a former senior commerce unionist, described the dismissals as “collateral injury.”
Nonetheless, Annisette said that the United Nationwide Congress (UNC)-led coalition authorities, which incorporates two commerce unionists, ought to have consulted with the employees earlier than deciding to fireplace them.
“I’m saying earlier than you make choices, and I’m telling the federal government that, allow us to discuss, don’t do just like the PNM. Two wrongs can’t make a proper…thus far we’ve our 12 per cent excellent by the previous authorities, who intentionally refused to honour a official settlement that was negotiated,” he mentioned, including that he expects this new authorities to honour that settlement.
Annisette was referring to a 12 p.c wage enhance promised to staff on the Port of Spain in 2015 by the earlier UNC authorities, which the final administration said didn’t comply with the rules and would due to this fact not be honoured.
The earlier authorities had knowledgeable the Seamen and Waterfront Employees Commerce Union (SWWTU) that the memorandum of settlement (MOA) was not enforceable. In November of final 12 months, port staff launched into industrial motion for over a month.
Concerning the CEPEP staff, Annisette, who has publicly supported the brand new administration, said that he’s a commerce unionist and the employees have been traumatized by being dismissed.
“In the event you rise up within the morning and also you hear a choice has been taken similar to that to fireplace you, what is going to occur. That’s the reason we’ve the Severance and Advantages Act, which requires 45 days’ discover earlier than terminating the providers of staff.
“If the federal government had engaged the commerce union and we’re asking them to interact the commerce union on issues of this nature, we’d have been capable of placed on the desk some believable decision that may not have brought on, the disruption, the trauma, stress these teams of staff needed to undergo,” Annisette mentioned.
Former prime minister Stuart Younger, in a publish on his Fb web page, mentioned, “We witnessed the unjustified termination of tons of of CEPEP contractors and, by extension, the lack of jobs for hundreds of our residents.
“Many affected residents have contacted me. To do that to households, together with hundreds of fogeys, is just merciless, inhumane, and unsuitable,” he mentioned, including, “I shall be reviewing this victimization from a authorized perspective to determine what motion will be introduced towards CEPEP Ltd and the Authorities for these untimely and merciless terminations.
“The continued assault and clear vindictive behaviour of the federal government should not stay unchallenged,” he added.
