PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) today warned that its members were likely to stage a sickout and join the proposed national strike being planned disgruntled trade unions over the government’s decision to offer public workers a five per cent wage hike.
PSWA president Anand Ramesar said while his organization is not involved in the planned industrial action by the police, it has been reliably informed that the officers will be joining the labour movement in shutting down the country and that this could be disastrous for the country.
He told reporters that he is hopeful that good sense would prevail on the part of the coalition People’s Partnership government and move to avoid the planned strike.
“I am very concerned in terms of the direction in which the members are going. Reliable information coming to the association is that officers are going to express via the sickout method their not being satisfied with the five per cent.
“It [planned industrial action] is not one led by the association, but they [officers] will respond to what they see happening as negotiations continue. But from the information I have it may coincide with the action of the trade unions . . . but I am not positive at this time,” he said.
Last week, the trade unions, enraged by the Kamla Persad Bissessar’s coalition government’s decision to impose a five per cent ceiling on wages, have given the government two weeks to meet their demands or face the possibility of a nationwide strike.
The unions have delivered an eight-point petition to the Prime Minister following an earlier protest outside her office last Thursday by workers represented by 18 trade unions. (CMC)