P.S.A. Settlement April 24th 2011
After almost a year of tough negotiating, closures of offices and numerous protests, the Public Services Association and the Chief Personnel Officer finally settled outstanding wage negotiations for 2008-2010 for public servants about two weeks ago. The Chamber, for its part, was happy to hear of this settlement and we congratulate them both on this achievement.
Now, for a time, both the public and private sectors can breathe a sigh of relief. We can now collectively get down to the business of positioning this country to be ready to take advantage of opportunities for increased trade and investment both by nationals and foreign investors as the Government continues to market T&T.
The PSA accepted Government’s 5% offer, which, according to the Minister of Finance, was the maximum the treasury could support without having a negative impact on the country’s economy. And according to President of the PSA, Watson Duke, speaking directly after the signing of the MOU, the 5% increase, is “only a form” as “the substance really amounts to some 55% when all the benefits are considered.” Mr. Duke indicated that the settlement included up to one million dollars coverage on the health plan with full family coverage, and access to HDC housing which will allow every public servant who qualifies to own a home. While we await further details to fully understand the annualized dollar impact on the finances of the country, we share Mr. Duke’s confidence that these benefits should improve the public servants quality of life and deservedly so.
The signing of the agreement also brought an end to a major negotiation for the still young People’s Partnership administration, during which time there were many pockets of industrial action, resulting in low productivity and risk to investor confidence. These must be taken very seriously as the Government proceeds with the several negotiations that have become due.
Industrial action of the type undertaken by various trade unions is risky business for T&T, especially at this time when there is such a crucial need to get the wheels of the economy churning again. The Prime Minister has expressed the hope that the agreement “paves the way for a more peaceful phase of industrial relations in the country.”
With merely 2% growth projected for 2010-2011, it is imperative that all parties work together to ensure the country’s recovery in the shortest possible time. The Prime Minister is on record as declaring T&T “open for business”, a message repeated in several international forums, most recently at the Business meeting in London. But words alone do not inspire investor confidence – they must be backed up by an infrastructure that accommodates doing business with ease, incentives to investors and demonstration of productive capacity. Investors are showing tremendous interest in this country but also need to be assured of a peaceful industrial relations climate.
Both the Competitiveness and Ease of Doing Business indices have identified poor work ethic as a deterrent to doing business in T&T, a fact also alluded to by the Minister of Labour. In the private sector negotiations are undertaken based on ability to pay as well as performance. Wage increments are linked to increased productivity and we recommend that similar benchmarks be applied to public sector negotiations.
