Five labour associations as they emerged from the Industrial Court yesterday afternoon disappointed.
The T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Prison Officers Association (POA), Fire Service Association (FSA), T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association and the Public Services Association (PSA) were all summoned to appear before the tribunal, after wage negotiations were referred there by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
During the case management conference yesterday the five asked that the matters be taken to conciliation stage instead, so that they can keep talking with Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Dr Daryl Dindial with the third-party involvement (usually the Labour Ministry)
However, attorney for the CPO Seenath Jairam SC, rejected the idea, as he had no such instructions.
The court was then left with no choice but to begin setting trial dates because conciliation has to be voluntarily agreed to by both parties.
TTUTA members said they were not happy with the result.
The immediate past TTUTA vice president said the move seemed like an effort to frustrate workers and this was not a good way to end the year. She said teachers would not be pleased.
The PSA meanwhile questioned the haste and insistence on having the matters heard in a trial rather than continue talking.
However, the associations representing the protective services were convinced their members would not accept this latest development.
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