By Sue-Ann Wayow
CONCERNED about “bread and butter” issues facing the most economically vulnerable in society, trade unions are again calling for the minimum wage to be raised from $17.50 to $30 per hour.
The Joint Trade Union Movement, the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) unions have formally written to Finance Minister Colm Imbert raising four main issues that were previously raised on the Labour Day platform in Fyzabad on June 19.
A copy of the letter delivered to the ministry’s head office in Port of Spain on Monday was also sent to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Paid Political Ad
The first of the issues was the value of the minimum wage.
The letter stated, “Workers in fast food outlets, gas stations, retail stores, hardwares, malls, big pharmacy chains, groceries, security workers, the daily paid workers, contractor workers, these minimum wage workers throughout this country are getting the rawest deal whilst scraping to and cannot make ends meet.”
Using data from the Central Statistical Office which shows the cost of basic necessities such as food, shelter, transport and health has significantly increased, the letter stated that apart from the economy, crime remained at an all-time high and posed an additional threat especially for single parent mothers working at varying hours.
The letter stated, “Our demand is simply that these workers who are among the poorest in our society be treated with dignity and respect. We therefore call for a decent increase in the minimum wage from the meagre and woefully inadequate $17.50 to at least $30 an hour. It is abundantly clear that all the factors relating to this sufferable situation of our people are compelling enough for this reasonable demand.”
The unions are also calling for a reduction in fuel prices noting that the price of fuel increased six times under the present administration.
However, since June 2022, there has been a steady decline in crude oil prices but yet still citizens were paying $7.75 per litre for premium, $6.97 per litre for super and $4.41 per litre for diesel.
“We are the only country in the world where fuel price and the cost of goods and services goes up and never come back down regardless of the market,” the letter stated.
The unions are also calling for no National Insurance Board (NIB) penalty for retiring at the age of 60.
Government should instead have measures in place to deal with retrenchment and delinquent employers who have not made contributions to the fund, they suggested.
While the trade union movement made it clear that it was not against citizens paying some form of land and building tax, it emphasised that now was not the time.
They wrote, “The property tax will have a serious impact on both employed and unemployed who are barely able to afford rent, mortgage payments and other high inflationary costs. Its implementation should be phased in only when the economy recovers sufficiently and should start with industrial then commercial then residential.”
The unions stated if the government was really committed to a just transition, then those issues must first be addressed.
