Champs Fleurs-based cigarette manufacturer West Indian Tobacco Company Limited (Witco) has signed of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) covering the period from January 2026 to December 2028. This agreement, signed on May 29th, 2024, was concluded just under a year after it finalised an agreement for wage negotiations for the 2023 to 2025 period.
In a release yesterday, Witco said the agreement was the first agreement nationally to be settled for this period.
In the statement, Witco's head of human resources, Caribbean, Luke Gittens said, "The signing of this agreement underscores the importance of our employees and the continued resilience of our business. Together, we are stronger for the future of our business, our industry, and our country."
The agreement includes a 7 per cent increase in wages and salaries spread out over the three-year period.
In a statement provided by the SWWTU branch executive, which represents workers at Witco, the union said it was appreciative of the opportunity to play an instrumental role in this groundbreaking negotiation settlement for the 2026-2028 collective bargaining period.
The union emphasised its commitment to continuing to work with the company in the best interest of all parties involved, with the hope of influencing a more proactive collective bargaining environment in Trinidad and Tobago.
Witco said in the release, "The successful negotiation and signing of this agreement are a demonstration of the strong and collaborative relationship between Witco and the union. Both parties agree that this partnership serves as a testament to the possibilities of having a symbiotic relationship that can flourish between a Union and an employer, leading to positive outcomes for all stakeholders."
Witco said it "is proud to set a new standard for labour relations through this landmark collective bargaining agreement and looks forward to continuing to work hand in hand with the SWWTU to drive mutual success and prosperity for our employees and the company."
In July 2023, Witco and the SWWTU were able to finalise agreement negotiations for the period 2023 to 2025 with a 6 per cent wage increase for both hourly rated workers and monthly rated staff.
In a news release last July, Witco said the negotiations were focused on balancing adjustments in both wages and benefits. This was inclusive of, but not limited to, enhancements in health benefits, as well as gradual increases in allowances and premiums.
Annisette said that the add-ons agreed made the deal especially beneficial to workers.
“There are other add-ons within the 6 per cent and given the climate, the Witco financials as you know it is within the public domain, that we believe that where we are in terms of the industry norm that the 6 per cent was reasonable within the circumstances,” said Annisette.
“We were also able to touch on other issues that are critical to the membership,” he said.
One year ago, Annisette said in the 2023 to 2025 clauses were added concerning severance and incentive payments were also agreed in addition to other benefits that would help workers in the current economic climate.
“There is also a question of food vouchers, which we believe is creative and innovative. It is to allow workers to benefit from food vouchers eg my food voucher is $500 and that is $500 not coming out of my base salary and that in itself is an increase. So what we sought to do as the union is to look at new metrics in terms of how workers can benefit and not necessarily just the straight across the board wage increase.”
In its unaudited, first quarter 2024 financial results, Witco reported revenue of $74.64 million, which was 40 per cent less than for the same period in 2023. The company's after-tax profit was $13.48 million, 60.4 per cent less than for the first quarter of 2023.
