T&T president appeals for review of public servants pensions

President Max Richards urged the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament Wednesday to improve the pensions of retired public service workers, stating that many of them "live in penury".

Richards was delivering the speech from the throne at the formal opening of the third session of the country's 9th Parliament.

The president said the pension structure for all levels of pensioners in the public service is inadequate. The high cost of food, shelter and other necessities caused by a higher cost of living is eroding the capability of these pensioners to sustain themselves, he said.

He noted that it is across the board from diplomats to permanent secretaries and those in the lower strata of the civil service structure. And he added that it is made worse when these people on fixed incomes experience failing health.

"There will continue to be an automatic fall in their standard of living", Richards said.

The president also addressed the roles of leaders both inside and outside of Parliament, saying "We need to listen to one another as we build the country."

Speaking about the role of Parliament he noted that the institution, which was borrowed from the country's colonial masters, is rooted in a monarchical system that gives greater authority to the ruler.

However he noted that in the context of Trinidad and Tobago this cannot apply. Richards said the national Parliament must always be the place where business is conducted on behalf of all the citizens.

Richards stated that dialogue is critical for national development and it must be an integral part of the Parliamentary process. He said the dialogue must permit another point of view even where it is in conflict with the prevailing position.

As a example, he cited the recent debate in Parliament where there "were clear gaps in the understanding of the land tax bills" in which Parliamentarians suggested that the measures were meant to impose increasing hardships on citizens.

The president spoke about responsibility and said we must all ask, "How do we rate ourselves. Not only leaders, but all of us?"

He said leadership is critical and it must come from the state, businesses and labour.

"Responsibility for progress does not lie solely with the leadership," he said, adding that leaders have have a duty "to those who went before us and upon whose shoulders we stand."