“True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.” Karl Popper, Austrian-British philosopher. The recent S&P Rating is not a new and startling event for Trinidad and Tobago. While many may have focused on the national outcome, we may have missed the reality that some …
Read More »Dear Editor: How incompetence of T&TEC—and other essential services—impoverishes T&T
“[…] The frustration in Greenvale, however, runs deeper than a single Sunday blackout. The community already feels utterly abandoned. The general election, which promised so much, has long passed, leaving a vacuum where change was supposed to be. “[…] We need some level of professionalism, which starts not with a …
Read More »Dear Editor: Credit were it’s due; Minister Padarath is bringing progress to Wasa
“[…] The Picton 1 EMBD Development in Barrackpore [is] an area that has waited far too long for progress. “[…] For people who have had water once every 14 days, moving to three times a week is a major shift in quality of life. This isn’t just a pipeline, it’s …
Read More »Dear Editor: Industrial Court’s estate police ruling is blow for social justice
The Industrial Court Special Tribunal delivered a judgment on 18 February 2022, and ruled that it would be too expensive for the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) to pay any increased salaries at this time. As such, the workers T&TEC were not awarded any salary increases for the period …
Read More »Noble: Before you go; spare a thought for the limitations of 2022
We are at the end of 2022. What will 2023 bring us? The recent past has worn us down, making us more apprehensive about the future. The pervasive uncertainty drains our optimism, making us more guarded in our expectations. What lies ahead? What lessons should we take with us into …
Read More »Kangalee: Claim that workers can sacrifice wage increases for job security is a ‘Nansi story’!
“[…] During the Petrotrin shutdown saga, the OWTU actually offered to take a 15% wage cut in order to save jobs. The result? All, all, all workers were sent home. “The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) settled with TSTT for 5% over a five-year period 2014–2019. How many jobs were saved? …
Read More »Public Utilities Minister: T&TEC, IPPs and ODPM failed during islandwide power blackout
“[…] The Committee identified several weaknesses in the management of the response, including ineffective communication with the public, with heavy reliance on the internet and social media which was negatively impacted by the blackout; the absence of the involvement of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management; the lack of …
Read More »St Louis: Industrial Court’s T&TEC judgement is a huge body blow for social justice
The Industrial Court delivered a judgement on 18 February 2022 and ruled that it would be too expensive for T&TEC to pay any increased salaries at this time. As such the workers at the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) were not awarded any salary increases for the period 2015 …
Read More »Paul: Unions must focus on short-term contracts and labour-supply contractors, not vaccines!
“[…] Employers, including state enterprises, […] are retrenching their workforce of both unionised and non-unionised employees and hiring labour-supply contractors, to provide low-wage workers (mostly temporary unsecured, non-benefit workers)—thereby greatly reducing their labour costs. “Many refuse to pay NIS, placing this critical retirement, sickness and injury benefit system in jeopardy. …
Read More »‘No reputable economist would suggest privatising WASA!’: Dr Farrell on WASA, VMCOTT, the fuel subsidy and lay-offs
“[…] No, no—WASA should not and cannot be privatised! There are some entities which are what you call in economics, natural monopolies. For an economy like Trinidad and Tobago, the production of water is a natural monopoly and the state should do it. “[…] We are going to give WASA …
Read More »Devaluation in time of Covid; should TT stoke its own economic Soufrière-like eruption?
Here we go again! In the Business Guardian of Thursday 8 April 2021, Joel Julien reports on the virtual Demas/Rampersad Seminar Series under the aegis of The UWI St Augustine Department of Economics. ‘Foreign Exchange Challenges in Trinidad and Tobago: What are the real implications?’ the title asks. Let us …
Read More »Dear Editor: Consumer Affairs must hold banks and cable companies liable for glitches
“It cannot be right that we dutifully pay our bills—plus interest and often at considerable financial sacrifice—for what may be considered essential services in this current era without reciprocal accountability which is not even questioned by the media on most occasions.” The following Letter to the Editor on questionable treatment …
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