Senior Political Reporter
Approximately 150 PowerGen workers will receive long-overdue salary payments before Christmas, following the conclusion of negotiations on a historic $66.1 million wage settlement.
Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath made the announcement in Parliament yesterday, describing the settlement as good news for workers.
Referring to placards displayed during a recent trade union march, Padarath said he had seen one that read: “Workers are on 2013 salaries in 2026.”
“Bit by bit, we’re fixing it,” he said.
Padarath said PowerGen and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) reached the agreement after intensive bilateral discussions on outstanding negotiations for the 2016-2017 and 2018-2020 bargaining periods, which remained unresolved under the former People’s National Movement administration.
“The agreement provides for a cumulative wage increase of nine per cent over five years,” he said.
“The increases are structured at 0.5 per cent, three per cent, one per cent, 1.5 per cent and three per cent, with all outstanding payments to approximately 150 eligible OWTU workers scheduled to be made by December 15, 2026.”
Padarath said the settlement would put more money into workers’ pockets for the Christmas season.
“This means more workers will be going home with money in their pockets under a Persad-Bissessar administration for Christmas 2026,” he said, noting that the settlement amounts to $66.1 million in compensation for workers who had waited “far too long” for resolution.
He added that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had publicly challenged trade union leaders to place the interests of their members ahead of politics.
“This settlement is a powerful demonstration of that principle, where meaningful dialogue triumphs over political thuggery. Workers deserve results, and this is what we’ve provided, again,” Padarath said.
He also welcomed the fact that the matter was resolved through negotiations rather than litigation.
“This agreement took the matter out of the Industrial Court and into the hands of the parties directly affected. This is a moral win for all, as the matter was settled bilaterally, in good faith, through discussion and negotiation, and not through a court ruling,” he said.
Padarath also addressed recent electricity disruptions caused by unplanned generator trips and issues at independent power-producing facilities.
“I recognise the inconvenience caused to citizens and businesses and wish to assure the national community that T&TEC is working closely with TGU and other power producers to implement measures aimed at restoring generating capacity and stabilising the electricity supply,” he said.
He attributed the problems to inadequate maintenance at several power generation facilities over the past nine and a half years.
“This has been as a result of poor maintenance of several power-producing companies over the last nine and a half years,” Padarath said.
