Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 31/Jan 03:55

Indarsingh: TTPost management undermining negotiations

COUVA South MP Rudranath Indarsingh has condemned TTPost’s management for what he describes as an attempt to undermine ongoing salary negotiations with the TT Postal Workers’ Union (TTPWU). Indarsingh issued a statement on January 29 in which he accused TTPost’s general manager George Alexis and human resource manager Krystal Joseph of breaching standard collective bargaining practices by engaging the media. “It is baffling that (Alexis and Joseph) would seek to engage the media on behalf of the company in the midst of ongoing negotiations,” Indarsingh wrote. His comments come in response to statements made by Joseph and senior human resource officer Saood Mohammed on TV6’s Morning Edition on January 27. TTPost’s representatives accused the union of acting in bad faith, saying missed meetings and delayed counterproposals were seen as evidence of stalling tactics. Joseph also suggested that the union was “setting up employees for disappointment” by making unrealistic comparisons between TTPost’s salary negotiations and the Salary Review Commission’s (SRC) proposals for government ministers. Indarsingh dismissed Joseph’s comments as an attempt to shift blame onto the union while deflecting from management’s role in the wage dispute. He also questioned whether Joseph was authorised to speak about the issue. “Was Ms Joseph authorised by TTPost to be a spokesperson on matters pertaining to ongoing negotiations, and if so, why?” he asked. The MP, who serves as the opposition’s shadow minister for labour and Tobago affairs, criticised Alexis for calling on “good sense to prevail” through the media, rather than demonstrating that good sense at the negotiating table. “This good sense must consider the reality of rising food prices, rising transportation costs, rising utilities, increased wear and tear on workers’ vehicles, the rising cost of raising a family and other increases in the costs of living to which workers are subjected,” he said. The dispute over wage negotiations is ongoing, with TTPost offering a four per cent salary increase – two per cent allocated for 2014 and 2019, with no increases from 2015-2018. The union, which had initially requested an 18.6 per cent increase based on a 2011 job evaluation, has rejected TTPost’s offer and plans to submit a counterproposal by February 17. Joseph, in her media appearance, claimed the union’s counterproposal submission was delayed and accused them of failing to engage in meaningful discussions. She also dismissed the TTPWU’s complaints about TTPost holding negotiation meetings at Drew Manor, Santa Cruz, instead of at the company’s Piarco head office. Indarsingh, however, took issue with Joseph’s remarks, calling them “highly unbecoming of a human resource manager.” He argued that instead of engaging in media commentary, Joseph should be explaining why management was “insistent on accepting only four per cent, when the Prime Minister and his Cabinet rendered thousands of dollars more unto themselves.” He also suggested that TTPost management had weaponised Alexis and Joseph to publicly attack the union and questioned whether their statements were made under instructions from the Public Utilities Minister. “Is TTPost’s management now doing the dirty work of Minister Marvin Gonzales, and attacking the union based on his instruction?” he asked. He warned that such behaviour was part of the People’s National Movement government’s broader strategy to weaken the labour movement. “The collective bargaining process cannot be fruitful and fair when members of management take it upon themselves to demonise unions and taint public opinion against union representatives,” he said. The post Indarsingh: TTPost management undermining negotiations appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.