Christmas cards and letters may not reach your loved ones on time this year as postal workers all over the country are now engaged in strike action.
Angered by the slow pace of wage negotiations between the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Workers' Union and the management of TTPost, post office workers say they will not be working for the next 48 hours.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, general secretary of the Postal Workers Union, Reginald Crichlow, said, "We hope we will get an answer from management within the next two days. However, if we don't, the union will go back to the workers and take action from there. We are willing to go on until we get just treatment."
He said the workers were only calling for honest pay for an honest job. He also said some workers were working without a pension plan and got no form of protection when they had to deliver packages in high-risk areas.
Negotiations between the union and TTPost's management began in April. However, they are still to agree upon terms and conditions for pay increases which postal workers are requesting.
Proposals for salary increases, which will take the lowest paid postal workers to a monthly salary of $6,000, have been given by the union.
Crichlow said at present, the lowest paid workers get about $2,600. He said with grocery bills being what they are, that is an "unthinkable amount" to pay an employee who works a 40-hour week.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Info at current exchange rates the figures above relate to:
2,600.00 TTD = 207.631 £
6,000.00 TTD = 479.044 £
Even the 6,000 TTD is not a lot
