Contractors’ union demands $$ for back pay by December 22

Ermine De Bique-Meade, president of the Contractors and General Workers Trade Union (CGWTU) leads San Fernando Corporation workers in the union song at a press conference on outstanding wages at Rushworth Street, San Fernando on December 4. - Photo by Innis Francis

THE Contractors and General Workers Union (CGWU) are calling on the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) to ensure at least some of the arrears owed to their members as a result of completed collective bargaining agreements are paid in cash on or before December 22.

CGWU president general Ermine De Bique Meade made the call during a news conference at the union's office on Rushworth Street, San Fernando on December 4. She called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to intervene to ensure workers at the San Fernando City Corporation (SFCC), who are represented by the CGWU, receive the money due to them.

De Bique Meade also repeated her call to Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo to keep the promise he made when he presented the 2025/2026 budget in Parliament on October 13, that government will ratify agreements signed in April for the Teaching Service, TT Defence Force, Port of Spain and San Fernando City Corporations.

The agreements related to the CGWU refer to collective bargaining agreements for 2014-2017 and 2017-2019 that were signed on April 24, while the former PNM administration was in office. The UNC won the April 28 general election, four days later.

In an indirect reference to Public Services Association (PSA) president Felisha Thomas' demand to the CPO that the PSA receive $3.8 billion in back pay to its members in cash, De Bique Meade made a similar demand on behalf of her members.

"Cash! Cash! Cash! Nothing else than cash because you can't take anything else to the grocery!"

De Bique Meade said, "We need cash! We need it badly! We need it now!"

She added, "We want our share of the pie!."

De Bique Meade called for these payments to be made on or before December 22.

"No retreat! No surrender!" declared De Bique Meade while her members applauded her loudly in the background.

She made it clear the CGWU had no issue with the PSA lobbying for a ten per cent wage increase for its members. De Bique Meade repeated the union's concern was that it began and settled its negotiations, long before the PSA received its ten per cent wage offer in December.

De Bique Meade asked CPO Dr Daryl Dindial and Tancoo to explain where was the transparency and equity in this matter.

She did not view this situation as a case of the government displaying political preference towards any single trade union.

The PSA and Oilfield Workers Trade Union were members of the "coalition of interests" which contested the election with the UNC.

De Bique Meade said she and her members had several conversations with Persad-Bissessar during the election campaign.

She drew Tancoo's attention to the fact that the colour of the CGWU is yellow, the same colour as the UNC.

"I want the minister to remember this colour! This colour sat around the table and had discussions with him!."

De Bique Meade said, "It cannot be of convenience! When you all (UNC) needed us, we were there!"

Union members applauded when she added, "We need you all now! I need you all to pay my members!"

De Bique Meade was confident Persad-Bissessar would "do the right thing" and intervene positively to help the CGWU's members.

She did not disclose what steps the union would take if its demands are not met.

De Bique Meade said if there was no state of emergency (SoE) in effect, the CGWU would have already hit the streets to protest this matter. "We would have been outside Parliament."

She added the agreements reached between the union and the CPO affect approximately 800 workers at the SFCC.