BUYERS’ REMORSE

TEACHERS are upset at the low backpay and nominal salary increases they are receiving.

The retroactive payment and wage hike for the 16,000 educators are based on a four per cent increase negotiated on their behalf by Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA).

Soldiers and police officers are also displeased with the four per cent pay deal signed with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).

Prisons and fire officers are equally distressed.

The employees of the protective services are grumbling that the token salary increases are a huge disincentive, especially since they are each working in difficult circumstances.

Under the leadership of Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshall Darryl Daniel, soldiers have been grousing about alleged arbitrary promotions and other human resources issues.

Policemen and women are placing their lives at risk amid the worst crime spree in Trinidad and Tobago’s history, along with a shortage of critical resources.

In recent years, several officers have been killed in the line of duty.

Fire officers are enduring a crippling lack of working tools, including tenders and unsuitable ladders.

Prisons officers have consistently complained that their working conditions do not meet occupational safety and health standards and they face “hits” ordered by inmates.

There is speculation that the discontent by officers of the protective services could have a negative impact on national security.

A senior police officer said: “The Government should show us much greater appreciation; we deserve better.

“Apart from our jobs being tough, the prices of everything have gone up.

“If we have to put our lives on the line, at least we would like to know that our families are fairly comfortable at home.”

T&T has been identified as one of the most violent countries in the world.

In consenting to the CPO’s officer, ASP Gideon Dickson, President of the Police Social Welfare Association, said: “We got a mandate from our membership to accept the four per cent offer, with minor adjustments to allowances.”

Most teachers are receiving around $20,000 each in backpay, before tax withdrawals.

The Government is rushing to make the payments this month based on a public promise made by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

The four per cent hike is for two collective agreements, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2020.

For certain years of the two contracts, teachers did not get any increased pay.

Now that they are confronted with the stark reality, many teachers are cussing the Government for refusing to budge from the four per cent offer.

They are also upset that TTUTA, led by Martin Lum Kin, failed to put up a fight for a better pay deal.

Teachers are annoyed that the increase is way below the rise in the cost of living over the past decade.

“Now that I see the figures before me, I am aggrieved that we settled for so little,” one secondary school teacher said.

He admitted that he had supported TTUTA in accepting the offer, “because the Government was refusing to do better.”

The teacher, a 30-year veteran, added: “You could say I am suffering from buyer’s remorse, which is what happens when you regret a decision.

He stressed: “This would not motivate us.”

The average teacher’s pay is around $13,000 a month.

It is generally agreed that teachers, as important professionals, are under-paid.

At the time of the settlement, Lum Kin said the deal was “not what we had hoped for.”

He said improved allowances and other benefits were agreed upon.

Negotiations are due to begin for the 2020-2023 collective agreement.

The Government’s four per cent offer was also accepted by Amalgamated Workers’ Union, which represents employees of Port of Spain City Corporation.

Altogether, some 37,000 workers are impacted.

The unions took the Government’s offer instead of referring the matter to the Essential Services Division of the Industrial Court.

The Court would have arbitrated on the issue and handed down a binding judgment.

The Public Services Association, National Union of Government and Federated Workers and All Trinidad General Workers’ Trade Union are holding out for a better deal for their respective members.

The Government claimed it could not afford to make a better offer to the public sector employees.

Imbert said the total cost of arrears is $10 billion, while $360 million is the additional annual recurrent price tag.

Economists have noted that purchasing power has declined significantly over the years, with the cost of some food staples rising by more than 60 per cent.

Some have recommended that the Government make public housing more accessible to public officers, and introduce medical insurance and pension plans.