“[…] So, after the Easter Celebrations, if we want to restore and rebuild our nation, we must come to terms with the politics of Easter. “We must be courageous enough to take off the political clothing of our political parties and risk speaking out on issues affecting the citizenry and …
Read More »Dear Editor: T&T’s celebrates 60 years of “Independence”—but are we truly independent?
“[…] It is quite an accomplishment to celebrate a 60th anniversary but can we as a people truly say that we have all really enjoyed the benefits of being an independent nation? “There are many positive achievements, most of which can be ascribed to our sportsmen and women, our cultural …
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 »Dear Editor: Citizens alone aren’t to blame, MoH’s delivery of test results is inadequate
“[…] There is also the case of someone who was in contact with a person who tested positive. They did a test at a health centre and after five days they did not receive the result. The individual responsibly went into self-quarantine and eventually received a negative report. “Why in …
Read More »Dear Editor: Time for TTPS to really ‘protect and serve with pride’; and Griffith must do his part
The logo of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service states ‘to protect and serve with pride’—but the service was once called the ‘Trinidad and Tobago Police Force’. How ironic when you look at the words ‘serve’ and ‘force’. These words, once taken literally, have the ability to impact on image. …
Read More »With hurricane season set to follow pandemic, Caricom must find voice on climate change
The Caribbean Community Market (Caricom), established in 1973, is the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world and its achievements along the way are many. Great strides have been made—particularly through functional cooperation in education, health, culture, security—and it is a respected voice in international affairs because of a …
Read More »We’re all in this together, so gov’t needs more compassion for small businesses
Over the weekend of 15 March 2020, the Minister of Labour pronounced on the need to implement Pandemic Leave in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. To date, approximately one month later, we are yet to see what is the policy for Pandemic Leave, which has become more relevant now than …
Read More »Dear editor: I don’t for one second believe they listened to ‘WE’! Give us truth on security contracts
“This is the same government who, when in opposition, criticised the then UNC-led People’s Partnership Government in 2014 for introducing a similar initiative called Community Comfort Patrol—saying that untrained, unknown people were driving through neighbourhoods in strange vehicles pretending to be police. “[…] The initiative has now been cancelled but …
Read More »Why the T&T Budget always disappoints
“As a people we are not part of any budget preparation which would determine our destiny for the next fiscal year. Why all this secrecy? “Why is there no participation by the ordinary citizens? Why don’t we have a date clearly identified for Budget presentation every year?” The following Letter …
Read More »And Justice for Some? In Defence of the Trinidad and Tobago’s Industrial Court
The Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago is a superior court of record, which gives it a status equivalent to that of the High Court of Justice. It is also a specialized court with its own peculiar jurisdiction and is responsible for the dispensation of social justice. The principal role of …
Read More »ArcelorMittal’s actions cloaked in trappings of deception: the story behind the exit
The following letter on ArcelorMittal’s retrenchment of hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago employees was written by Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) education officer Bryan St Louis: Retrenchment is defined as the forced layoff of employees by a company usually to cut down or reduce payroll expenses. In our jurisdiction and in accordance …
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