Senior Reporter
A dispute has erupted between the Government and the Port-of-Spain City Corporation over whether the capital city has sufficient funding to pay hundreds of municipal workers.
This, after Rural Development and Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen yesterday dismissed claims that the corporation lacks the money to pay salaries, insisting the Government has already released the necessary funds and accusing the corporation of “playing petty politics” with workers.
Speaking with Guardian Media, Ameen said she was shocked after seeing a memo circulated by the corporation’s chief executive officer to the union representing monthly-paid employees, warning that salaries could not be paid.
“I was rather taken aback last evening when I saw circulating, a memo from the CEO of Port-of-Spain corporation informing them that they will not have monies to pay salaries. To the point where I thought this was some kind of fake memo,” Ameen said.
She said there had been “absolutely no consultation” with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government before the memo was issued.
“Had the CEO or mayor reached out to us, we would have informed them that we had received, as every ministry received from the Ministry of Finance yesterday, a memo indicating that the process had been completed and the warrant confirming that money is available.”
Ameen maintained that no public servant should receive a late ,salary because the Government had already released the required funding.
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has released the monies for all public servants to be paid and they ought to be paid on time. Port-of-Spain City Corporation is either misinformed or misinforming workers.”
She also accused the corporation of prioritising celebrations over its financial obligations.
“It is also very ironic that the mayor of Port-of-Spain is sending out such a press release in the middle of his celebrations for City Week that involves a lot of expenses around entertainment. So, while you are wining and dining yourself and your associates, you are telling workers that they will not get paid. We will not tolerate that.”
However, Port-of-Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne yesterday maintained that the corporation has not received the additional funding required to meet this month’s payroll.
In a statement to Guardian Media, Alleyne said that as of 2 pm, the corporation had received no supplementary allocation.
“Up to 2 pm today (yesterday), the city has received no additional allocation in order to make payroll for this month. No civil servants in the city have been paid for June 2026.”
He said the corporation normally releases salaries three working days before the end of the month, meaning payments should have been processed on Thursday to reach employees by yesterday.
According to Alleyne, 446 employees have been affected, including more than 180 city police officers.
He said the corporation faces a salary and Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) shortfall of nearly $13 million, a garbage collection shortfall of almost $4 million and more than $1 million for wages and COLA.
“If the ministry can’t give us money to pay civil servant salaries, when are they going to give us the money to pay daily-rated workers’ backpay and wage increase?” Alleyne asked.
The issue was first raised publicly on Thursday night by Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles during a political meeting in Marabella.
Beckles again accused the Government of deliberately reducing allocations to People’s National Movement-controlled regional corporations while increasing funding to United National Congress-controlled corporations.
Beckles argued that the funding cuts had affected garbage collection, drainage maintenance and other municipal services and claimed some corporations were struggling to meet payroll obligations.
“But let the mayor of San Fernando tell you, and the mayor of Port-of-Spain, they have no money to pay salaries this month, the corporation workers more than likely will not get salary this month,” Beckles said.
