Trinidad telecoms fires 51 more workers

(Trinidad Express) Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) yesterday fired 51 more employees.

In a statement issued yesterday morning, the company said it completed its “staff rationalization exercise” on Wednesday with the non–unionized employees being served retrenchment notices.

In addition, TSTT, through an out of court settlement facilitated the resignations of 77 employees who were applicants for the VSEP programme offered by TSTT in 2014.

These employees were previously denied their request for separation as a result of an injunction lodged at the Industrial Court, said TSTT.

The reduction in staff will result in savings of approximately $270 million annually, bringing TSTT in line with the industry benchmark for employee costs, which is 15% of revenue. In keeping with its strategic mandate, TSTT said it also envisages no salary increases for the outstanding periods 2014 to 2018.

Additionally, TSTT’s annual revenue per employee of US$177,000 is expected to trend closer to the industry standard of US$400,000.

According to TSTT’s CEO, Dr. Ronald Walcott, “Organizational transformation is an absolute necessity for TSTT’s survival.

We had to make these very difficult decisions to ensure that TSTT continues to fulfil its mandate to provide ubiquitous and affordable leading-edge solutions for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”