Kejan Haynes
Teachers across Trinidad and Tobago have received their long-awaited backpay for salaries covering 2020 to 2023, according to Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) president Crystal Ashe.
Ashe told Guardian Media on Tuesday that only a small number of teachers had not seen the payments reflected on the IHIRIS platform, which allows public officers to view their payslips online.
She said those teachers contacted the Ministry of Education, which made arrangements for them to receive their payments by vouchers.
“But all in all teachers over Trinidad and Tobago would have received their long awaited arrears of Salaries for the period 2020-2023,” Ashe said.
The payments follow months of uncertainty over when teachers would receive the outstanding sums.
TTUTA had previously said about $900 million was allocated in the 2025 national budget to cover the teachers’ backpay.
On September 12, TTUTA said it had received reports from members that their backpay had been reflected on IHIRIS, but the association had not received formal confirmation from either the Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Education.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo had said he would address the issue in Parliament but never did.
