Senior Reporter
Amalgamated Workers’ Union (AWU) president Michael Prentice has accused the State of “blatant discrimination in the worst way,” after claiming that Port-of-Spain City Corporation workers remain without agreed salary increases and backpay, despite other public sector groups already receiving their adjustments.
Speaking at a media conference yesterday, Prentice said approximately 1,600 daily paid workers at the corporation are still waiting on increases that were agreed under negotiations signed in 2025.
He said the union was among the first bargaining units to accept the Government’s five per cent wage package under the last administration cycle, alongside other unions such as the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association and the Contractors and General Workers’ Trade Union, both of which have since begun receiving increases and arrears.
“Workers are being pushed aside,” Prentice said.
“It cannot be one yardstick for one group and another for others. That is discrimination in the worst way.”
However, the union also highlighted a major point of contention – the Port-of-Spain corporation’s position that it does not currently have sufficient funds to implement the increases without destabilising its wage bill.
According to Prentice, the corporation has indicated that while it recognises the agreement, it is facing a financial shortfall and would have to draw from its existing wage allocation to meet payments.
This, he said, could create a knock-on effect where both daily-paid and monthly-paid workers risk delayed or disrupted salaries later in the financial year.
“The corporation is saying they are challenged with funding,” he explained. “They are saying if they pay the increases from the wage bill, it will leave them unable to sustain payroll obligations going forward.”
Prentice rejected that explanation, insisting that both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Local Government had publicly stated during the 2025 budget process that funding had been provided for wage increases at the corporation level.
He said this contradiction now raises serious questions about whether allocations were properly disbursed or whether administrative breakdowns are preventing implementation.
“You cannot tell workers that money was provided in the budget and then say there is no money to pay them. Something is fundamentally wrong,” he said.
The union leader pointed to what he described as uneven rollout across the public sector, noting that TTUTA teachers and other bargaining units have already received increases and backpay following settlements signed around the same period or later.
He argued that this disparity is deepening frustration among municipal workers who feel sidelined despite performing essential sanitation and public health duties.
“These are essential workers at the lowest end of the wage structure,” he said. “They are the ones keeping the city clean and functional, yet they are the ones being made to wait.”
Prentice also warned that morale among workers has deteriorated significantly, saying frustration has been building for months due to repeated delays and uncertainty over implementation timelines.
He said the union has formally requested an urgent meeting with the Minister of Local Government, scheduled for May 14, but insisted that the issue requires immediate attention.
“We are demanding answers now, not later. Workers cannot continue to be treated like this.”
While the union has not yet announced industrial action, Prentice said its next move will depend on the outcome of discussions with Government officials and whether clear commitments are made to resolve the funding and implementation impasse.
“We will hold strain until the meeting but if nothing changes, we will have to determine our way forward.”
Responding to the union’s concerns, Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen said the Government has had a cooperative relationship with workers.
“As Minister of Local Government, I have met with and continue to have an open-door policy with the representative unions of all 14 municipalities. I look forward to meeting with them soon,” Ameen said.
