Trinidad telecoms retrenching 468 employees

-industrial court intervenes

(Trinidad Express) Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said on Wednesday that the very survival of majority State-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) depends on the company taking difficult decisions, including retrenching 468 of its employees.

Gonzales was responding to the decision by TSTT to issue 468 of its employees with retrenchment notices on Tuesday. Of those employees, 403 are unionised workers who are entitled to receive payment in lieu of the statutory 45-day notice period, in keeping with their collective agreements.

The Industrial Court on Tuesday night in effect halted TSTT’s execution of retrenchment notices on the 376 employees represented by the Communications Workers Union (CWU).

TSTT had sent retrenchment notices to 44 per cent of its workforce before the start of the restructuring exercise. If the exercise is fully implemented, the company’s actual headcount would decline from 1,057 employees before the restructuring to 589 after the process.

In comments to the Express, Gonzales pointed out that if TSTT does not take difficult decisions now, it will not be able to continue in business.

“It’s a known fact that because of the impact of the global pandemic and the changing telecommunications environment, TSTT has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the last two to three years,” said Gonzales.

He added: “The company is now forced to make decisions if it wants to survive in a fast-paced environment. If it doesn’t make these decisions to become fit for purpose and embrace new technologies, it will have no choice but to close its doors.

“Therefore, the board and management have taken a decision to restructure the company in order that it remains a going concern for its shareholders.”

Gonzales added: “I know it is a very stressful and diffi¬cult time for the employees and others who may be impacted, but given the informa¬tion I have as minister, I believe that the board and management must do what must be done to keep the TSTT ship sailing.”