Senior Reporter
andrea.perez-sobers@guardian.co.tt
Outstanding wage negotiations, backpay, employment, and worker support are among the key demands being placed on the Government ahead of the 2027 National Budget, as unions push for settlements despite economists warning that another deficit budget could put pressure on the economy.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo will present the Budget on October 12, at 1.30 pm in the House of Representatives. His 2026 budget projected revenue of $55.367 billion against expenditure of $59.232 billion, resulting in a projected deficit of $3.865 billion.
Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union president Michael Annisette wants the Government to find a mechanism to settle outstanding negotiations, particularly at the port, where some workers are still on 2013 salaries.
“We need a mechanism to address all the outstanding negotiations, including that on the port,” Annisette declared.
He pointed out that while it is now 2026, the collective agreement runs to 2029, leaving workers with long-standing outstanding pay.
Annisette also wants the fiscal package to set a direction for economic development, particularly by investing in the infrastructure and tools needed to make Trinidad and Tobago a logistics hub.
“It will generate earning revenue, it will generate employment, and it will be good for our economy,” he declared.
Contractors and General Workers Union president Ermine De Bique-Meade said she wants the budget to provide the money required to pay San Fernando City Corporation daily-paid workers their backpay, which has been outstanding since April 24, 2025.
She also wants Government to provide the Chief Personnel Officer with the resources needed to allow negotiations at Lake Asphalt to resume.
The negotiations had covered all the non-cost items, but were placed on hold before the cost items could be addressed. Lake Asphalt workers, De Bique-Meade pointed out, are still working on 2014 salaries.
She said it’s time all outstanding negotiations involving workers across T&T are addressed, including employees of National Maintenance Training and Security Company Limited (MTS).
De Bique-Meade said the budget must address unemployment among young people leaving college and unemployed Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme Company Ltd (CEPEP)workers.
She also rejected the argument from economists that settling outstanding wage negotiations could place additional pressure on an already strained economy.
“We would like the Government to offset the outstanding negotiations for all workers in Trinidad and Tobago because it is not that I want it for my workers alone,” she declared.
Meanwhile, T&T Postal Workers’ Union general secretary David Forbes said he is looking for a clear commitment from Government on when negotiations covering postal workers from 2014 to 2019 will be concluded.
The union’s proposal is for a 12 per cent increase. Forbes said the budget should provide supplementary allocations to settle the negotiations in the coming fiscal period.
The union also has outstanding issues involving a job evaluation exercise undertaken in 2011 and the implementation of an 18.6 per cent adjustment for postal workers.
The Communication Workers’ Union has called for action on outstanding wage negotiations at State-owned and public-sector entities, including TSTT and WASA.
The CWU wants greater resources for the Industrial Court, which received approximately $28.9 million in the 2026 budget, arguing that the Court must have sufficient staff and resources to resolve industrial disputes more quickly.
However, the union has cautioned against additional taxation as the automatic response to revenue needs.
It said the budget must demonstrate a commitment to settling longstanding wage negotiations and restoring industrial peace.
