00:00President of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union Michael Anasset says
00:04international best practice working conditions including the SWWTU
00:08suggestion of a five-day workweek for dock workers enhancing productivity and
00:14other issues were discussed during the meetings that were held with
00:17stakeholders. According to Anasset both the Confederation of Regional Business
00:21Chambers and the Shipping Association the latter which he met with on November
00:266th are deeply concerned.
00:28It was very brutally found. It was constructive and it was what I
00:34want to call solution oriented and appreciation of the two sides concern
00:42and how we can put our collective minds together in order to trigger off some
00:52kinds of discussions with the Port Authority.
00:55Anasset says there can be no progress if talks cease. On Tuesday Minister of Works and
01:00Transport Rohan Sinanan told TV6 News that most of the operations at the Port
01:06of Port of Spain resumed except for one area which was following Monday's
01:10industrial action which affected all operations after workers withheld their labor.
01:15Now Mr. Anasset would you be able to tell me whether all operations
01:21resumed at the port today?
01:23Well from my information there was some glitches in certain parts of the operation because of the meetings that I had.
01:36I wasn't able to do a confirmation yet.
01:41A main concern remains the 12% wage increase that was agreed to and signed off on between the Port Authority and the
01:48SWWT for the period 2014 to 2017 when the People's Partnership Administration
01:54was in office. As it pertains to Minister Sinanan when pressed on
01:58questions of ministerial intervention on the matter signaling that the Chief
02:02Personnel Officer is the one with the final say concerning that agreement
02:06Anasset rejects that.
02:08There's a fundamental contradiction in what the Minister is saying.
02:14The very said minister who is talking about the CPO would have written to the port with a letter under his signature advising the port to offer the union a 4% over a 6 year period.
02:29Not the CPO. The minister would have sent that to the port and that was rejected by the union and quite rightly so.
02:39Anasset states that it is the last offer that was made.
02:43It further indicates that when the memorandum of agreement was signed it was not subjected to approval from anyone else whether it be the CPO or the minister.
02:53Asked if the SWWT will be willing to entertain any negotiations apart from the 12% for the period in question, Anasset responds.
03:02You do not negotiate a negotiation that has been settled and signed off by parties and negotiate within a very negotiations that has been negotiated and settled and there's legitimate expectations from the workers.
03:23He states that the National Trade Union Center did write to the Minister of Finance in 2020 seeking intervention on wage negotiations including the present one under contention and at this time the union has no intentions of writing again.
03:38Anasset tells us workers will continue to stand up for their rights and the union as well as the workers it represents are aware of the negative fallout the present situation can have on the economy and by extension the country.
03:52He maintains that they are committed to collaborating towards a resolution.
03:56Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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