Nearly 300 university staff to be fired in Trinidad

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Education Minister Anthony Garcia says the cash-strapped University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) is to send home nearly 300 non-academic staff as part of the efforts to restructure the operations of the institution.

“Information from University of Trinidad and Tobago states that 59 academic staff are to be dismissed, 57 of which already received dismissal letters. In addition, 287 non-academic staff are expected to be dismissed. Discussions are still ongoing between the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) and the UTT,” Garcia told the Senate on Monday.

Garcia said that as part of the negotiating process, the union has been requesting certain information that has been provided to it.

“However, I’ve facilitated three meetings in an effort to bring both parties together and at the last meeting I held between the union and UTT, the union had requested some additional bits of information.

“The UTT is now treating with that information and I’ve been assured that in the not-too-distant future that information will be relayed to the union,” he told legislators.

But, the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) has described the dismissals as “harsh, repressive” and contrary to good industrial relations.

Opposition legislator Rudranath Indarsingh, a former trade unionist, told reporters that the UTT should explain the criteria used in dismissing the workers.

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste- Primus told the Senate that “information from UTT states that with regards to the academic staff, they’re not deemed to be workers under the (governing) act which requires reporting to the ministry.”

The law mandates that job cuts over five must be reported by employers to the ministry and Baptiste-Primus said the government has in place the National Employment Service “where employers register with us and unemployed/retrenched people are invited to register with the Labour Ministry".

“We’ve also opened a National Retrenchment Register to capture more accurately the number of people retrenched in Trinidad and Tobago, as the act states an employer is only required to inform the Labour Minister if that employer is retrenching five or more workers. Under five there’s no requirement.

“So we invite those retrenched to visit our offices and they’ll be given the necessary assistance and guidance where possible.”

Earlier this month, Garcia defended the UTT decision to send home more than 30 academic staff members, saying that their retrenchment would not affect the operations of the tertiary institution.

Garcia said that it became necessary to dismiss the lecturers because the UTT is overstaffed.

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