Unions ramp up protest plans amid delays on backpay, salary increases

2026-03-18 - 02:14

Senior Reporter otto.carrington@guardian.co.tt Two major trade unions representing teachers and healthcare workers say they are pressing ahead with protest action as uncertainty continues over salary increases and outstanding backpay for thousands of public sector employees. President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Crystal Ashe, confirmed that a rally originally planned for March 15 had to be postponed due to delays in securing regulatory approvals. Speaking with Guardian Media, Ashe said the union was required to seek clearance from the Environmental Management Authority, which carries a 35-working-day waiting period. He said the demonstration is now likely to take place next school term, although no firm date has been set. Ashe added that TTUTA has received no written communication from the Ministry of Finance or the Chief Personnel Officer regarding the long-awaited payment of backpay. “No, nothing in writing from the Minister of Finance, the Chief Personnel Officer, none of them. We are hearing, though, that some persons would have received confirmation of their new salary,” he said. According to Ashe, teachers have been able to view updated salary figures through an online platform utilised by the Ministry of Education, but he described the increases as modest. “It’s not a big increase. It’s a couple hundred dollars, four or five hundred dollars increase in salary. So, what we’re waiting on at this point in time would be the backpay. The Minister stated that it would be end of March. We are at the end of March and we’re not seeing that, so I guess we’re playing the waiting game,” he said. Meanwhile, president of the Trinidad and Tobago National Nurses’ Association (TTNNA), Idi Stuart, said healthcare workers are also preparing further protest action amid frustration over unresolved wage negotiations affecting employees of the country’s Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). Stuart said the association staged a peaceful demonstration at the San Fernando General Hospital on March 6. “That went well. The police were present. There was no issue. They came, they saw, they engaged us, and they left after the protest without any issue,” he said. He confirmed that a second protest is planned for March 27 at the Sangre Grande Hospital, with organisers already in contact with police officials. The association is also planning a larger march on April 10 through the streets of Port-of-Spain, from the Ministry of Health on Queen’s Park East to the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Finance headquarters. Stuart said explicit approval from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is being awaited for that event. Stuart further claimed that more than 15,000 RHA workers have not received confirmation on when salary increases will be paid, with some issues dating back to January 1, 2014. “You’re speaking in excess of 15,000 workers who have not received any confirmation of when they would receive a salary increase from January 1, 2014, straight to present,” he said. He pointed to a media release issued by the Minister of Finance following a December wage agreement with public servants, which indicated that nursing personnel would be negotiated for separately due to the association’s recent recognition status. However, Stuart said subsequent engagements with the RHAs revealed a different position. “The RHAs are saying they are not going to engage in any negotiations with us for that outstanding period because we only received recognition status in 2025. So, any negotiations with the Nurses Association would be from 2025 going forward,” he said, describing the situation as “disingenuous.” He added that uncertainty also persists for other categories of RHA workers who do not fall under the association’s recognition framework. “It is now four months since the public servants’ agreement was signed and RHA workers have not received or even been given any indication of when they would receive salary increases,” Stuart said.