TT Nurses Association not part of 'rest and reflection'

TTRNA President Idi Stuart. - File photo by Angelo Marcelle

TRINIDAD and Tobago Nurses Association (TTRNA) president Idi Stuart says the association is not part of any planned day of rest or reflection by regional health authority (RHA) personnel if they do not receive the ten per cent wage increase which the UNC promised public servants during the general election campaign earlier this year.

He made this comment on December 13 in response to a statement made by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo on this matter.

In a WhatsApp statement, Stuart said, "The association is not a participant currently in that measure that is being planned."

TTRNA, he continued, is sympathetic to all RHA workers throughout TT "who really feel a sense of disappointment with not being included in the current concluded negotiations between the PSA (Public Services Association and the CPO (Chief Personnel Officer) particularly when it comes to the partial back pay...the advanced back pay (to public servants)."

Stuart said, "The association does believe that all RHA workers should benefit from that backpay during this Christmas period."

He added once negotiations are settled between the recognised majority trade unions and the CPO within the RHAs, the backpay for RHA workers would be in excess "of the $20,000 that has been promised to public servants."

Stuart identified those unions as the TTRNA, Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) and the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW).

"It would not have taken much out of the government to allocate that, not only for public servants, but also for RHA workers."

Stuart suggested Tancoo have a rethink of this matter.

"Upon the conclusion of any future negotiations, they can just deduct the difference from this advance payment that is to come.

In a statement on December 12, Tancoo said government respects the collective bargaining process and remains committed to good-faith engagement with the appropriate labour organisations.

He said, “In this regard, the government therefore calls on all recognised majority unions representing RHA employees to submit formal wage proposals directly to the RHAs, so that lawful, transparent negotiations can commence, that is guided by fiscal discipline and the State’s capacity to sustain increases.”

“He added, “The government respects the collective bargaining process and remains committed to good-faith engagement with the appropriate labour organisations.

“We are open to fair wage adjustments where they can be responsibly funded.”

While Tancoo respected the rights of RHA personnel to protest, he hoped patient care and essential services will be protected at all times.

“RHAs are public sector bodies created under their own Act and are not part of the core public service governed by the Civil Service Act.”

Tancoo said, “When RHAs were first operationalised, staff who transferred from the civil service and statutory authorities were guaranteed that, at the point of transfer, they would not be placed on less favourable terms.”

The ministry added that was a one-time safeguard, “not an open-ended guarantee that every future civil service wage increase would automatically follow them into the RHAs.”

On January 13, he continued, the TTRNA was certified as the recognised majority union for certain nursing positions at the Eastern RHA. The association is now entitled to engage in collective bargaining for this group under the Industrial Relations Act.

Tancoo said, “In law, wage settlements for RHA employees, must come through negotiations between each RHA and its recognised majority union under the Industrial Relations Act. They cannot simply be imported by extending the agreement recently concluded between the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) and the Public Services Association (PSA) for public officers.”

Tancoo repeated, “Only officers who remain public officers within the meaning of the Civil Service Act are entitled to and will receive the revised terms agreed between the CPO and the PSA.”

Tancoo said, “Extending those terms to all RHA staff who are no longer public officers would go beyond the legal authority of the State, because the RHAs – not the CPO – are their employers.”

The PSA and the CPO signed an MoA on December 2 for the bargaining periods of 2014-2016 and 2017-2019, including a ten per cent wage increase with new salary payments starting in January 2026 and retroactive allowances from January 1, 2014.