By Chantalé Fletcher
A PROPOSAL was submitted to restructure the Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) to the representative majority Unions (RMUs) as well as its management staff on February 1 due to the current realities of the global and local telecommunications industry.
TSTT on Saturday released a statement to address claims made by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) the company received a bond of $US70 to retrench 573 workers.
The union also stated that the retrenchment of 503 junior and senior employees in 2018, was due to an operation loss of $32 million in 2017 and $478 million into the beginning of 2018.
In addition to a drop in revenue at the last financial year ending on March 31, 2021 where revenue dropped by $453 million, which was 18 % less than the previous year.
However, TSTT admitted on February 4, the process commenced to secure funding from financial markets to cover the separation costs of its proposed restructuring exercise.
The company said, “The proposal is still in its formative stages as to the number of employees who might be potentially impacted but, as part of making arrangements for the possibility that the proposal whether as made or some varied form of it following the conclusion of consultations – might be implemented, TSTT had to seek funding to cover the cost of the proposed restructure.
“It is only after the consultations have been completed, that the proposed size and shape of the organisation will be determined, and the actual number of any impacted employees will be known.”
They stated, “At the moment, any stated, cited or quoted number of potentially impacted employees cannot be, and is not, definitive because this (among others) is a matter which is the subject of the ongoing consultations.
“The Company is unable to make public the details of the consultation process itself, and it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time as the Company takes the view that to do so would be inconsistent with the principles of good industrial relations practice.”
TSTT stated the proposed restructure has been necessitated by several factors including the economic conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic which have crippled impact on the company’s business and caused a loss in revenue.
