Members of the Public Service Association (PSA) marched in the Trinidad and Tobago capital of Port of Spain Monday and delivered a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister, which outlines their demands for new wages.
Persad Bissessar was out of the country at the time, attending the United Nations General Assembly debate in New York. She is returning home Tuesday night.
PSA president Watson Duke told reporters his union is giving the government until Friday to make a counter proposal and reiterated that the government's "legitimate time is up on midnight Thursday".
Duke said, “On the first of October, Friday, they have entered into the grace of the public service, fire and prison included and at any time after that we could choose to end our grace and then it is war, not war with guns, but war with labour."
He was emphatic that his members "will not sell our labour cheap". He claimed that the new government deceived the PSA. "They have taken our votes and they are promising us foolishness, we don’t want their promise we want money and we are not joking with that,” Duke declared.
The PSA is demanding that the basic salaries for public workers should be a minimum TT$6,000 monthly. "We have been suffering for years…we are not taking anything less than 6,000 dollars. In order to get a pension of 3,000 dollars you need to move to a minimum of 6,000 dollars,” Duke explained.
Thee Prison Officers Association and the Fire Officers Association joined Monday's march. They also have salary issues with the government and are demanding a minimum base salary of TT$8,000 for members.
The previous Manning PNM government had put off salary negotiations with the three groups after he called the general elections in May. Manning's defeat at the polls left his unfinished business for the new government.
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