- 4 months ago
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00:00The heart of our nation and the workers who are its lifeblood and strength.
00:07For more than a decade, employees of the National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago, NIBTT,
00:14have been waiting in frustration and deprivation for what was lawfully theirs.
00:19A legally binding collective agreement entered into between the PSA and the NIBTT
00:27covered the period January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2016.
00:34This was a legally binding collective agreement.
00:37That agreement was solemnly settled, duly signed, and lawfully registered,
00:43binding all parties with the full force of law, that is, Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the PSA.
00:51Its terms were unambiguous, its obligations undeniable.
00:57Its enforcement, inescapable.
01:00And yet, in an unconscionable act of political obstruction,
01:07its benefits were deliberately withheld from the very workers it was designed to protect.
01:12Mr. Speaker, despite the unambiguous and binding nature of that agreement,
01:21the former administration deliberately blocked the NIBTT from honouring its obligations to workers.
01:28In doing so, they denied 600 current employees and 350 past employees their lawful entitlements for many years,
01:39effectively withholding salary increases that had been due for over 12 years.
01:44They placed political interference above the law.
01:47They sacrificed justice on the order of expediency.
01:50And in the process, they rubbed thousands of our citizens of their rightful salary adjustments and arrares.
01:58The human cost was devastating.
02:01Almost six years of denial and more.
02:03Six years of frustration.
02:05And six years of prolonged litigation.
02:08For all those years, fathers, mothers, clerks, officers, men and women who gave their lives to national service
02:16were forced to endure without their just due.
02:20Their children also bore the weight, watching their parents struggle,
02:24as families sacrificed meals, opportunities, and peace of mind because justice was cruelly denied.
02:32This was no accident.
02:34It was a result of deliberate political interference.
02:38The past government chose politics over people,
02:45sacrificing justice to protect their narrow interests
02:51and reducing citizens to collateral damage in reckless political games.
02:57Children were left to suffer.
02:58Watching opportunities slip away, carrying the scars of deprivation caused not by misfortune,
03:06but by the former PNM government's callous abuse of all.
03:15That was not governance.
03:20That was cruelty disguised as policy,
03:23inflicting needless suffering on ordinary families across our nation.
03:27Mr. Speaker,
03:30that was not just an administrative lapse.
03:33It was a grave and moral failure.
03:36It was a betrayal of workers,
03:38and worse,
03:39a willful dereliction of duty
03:40to citizens of all nation.
03:42The PNM's political interference was not only unprincipled and reckless.
03:50It was petty, spiteful, and rooted in partisan abuse of power.
03:55That regime abandoned the most sacred responsibility of governance to uphold the law,
04:04to protect the rights of its people, and to serve with integrity.
04:09Instead, they weaponized the machinery of the state to punish workers,
04:15placing politics above people,
04:16and condemning hundreds of families, including their children,
04:21to years of needless suffering.
04:23Entire committees, Mr. Speaker,
04:25were forced to bear the cost of arrogance, vindictiveness,
04:29and political spite,
04:30masquerade in our policy.
04:32Today,
04:36my government has acted decisively
04:39to correct this grave injustice
04:41and to restore what was lawfully,
04:44rightfully,
04:45to the workers of the NIBT,
04:47who were denied for far too long.
04:51In correcting this wrong,
04:53we are reinstating the dignity of workers,
04:56we are reaffirming their humanity,
04:58and we are upholding the rule of law
05:00as a bedrock of our democracy.
05:03This action is not only about back pay and arrears,
05:07it is about honoring lawful agreements,
05:10defending fundamental rights,
05:12and providing that in a just democracy,
05:15no citizen is ever beneath the protection of the law
05:18or beyond the reach of fairness.
05:21Accordingly,
05:22my cabinet has directed the NIBT to do the following.
05:25to implement the agreed salary adjustments
05:28with immediate effect.
05:38To facilitate the full and prompt payment
05:41of all outstanding arrears
05:42to affected employees without delay.
05:47Mr. Speaker,
05:48I make bold as to say
05:51this is not merely the execution of a contract,
05:54this is the restoration of justice
05:57and fulfillment of our workers' agenda.
06:03And this is, Mr. Speaker,
06:05I am proud to say
06:06the delivery of another campaign promise.
06:13This is another promise we have kept
06:16to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
06:19When UNC wins,
06:20the NIBT workers win,
06:22and everyone wins.
06:23Mr. Speaker,
06:29let the contrast be unmistakable.
06:33The PNM regime blocked justice.
06:36This UNC coalition government
06:38restores justice.
06:43The PNM regime denied workers
06:46their lawful entitlements.
06:48This UNC coalition government
06:50delivers those entitlements.
06:51The decision reflects my government's philosophy
06:58of inclusive and collaborative governance
07:02and our unwavering commitment
07:04to advancing the dignity
07:06and well-being of workers
07:08in every sector.
07:10It marks the beginning
07:10of a new era of governance,
07:13one in which workers
07:14will never again be bargaining chips
07:16or collateral damage
07:17or collateral damage
07:17in political games,
07:18but it will be respected
07:20as partners
07:20in our national development.
07:22I commend the Public Services Association
07:30and the employees of the NIBTT
07:33for their patience,
07:35their resilience,
07:36and their steadfast faith
07:37that justice would one day prevail.
07:40They endured years of insanity
07:42and despair.
07:43Today, their perseverance
07:45has been vindicated.
07:46I am deeply grateful
07:48for their patience
07:49and their faith,
07:50qualities that reflect
07:51not only endurance
07:52but true patriotism.
07:54Their service to this nation,
07:56even in the face of injustice,
07:58speaks to a devotion
07:59that strengthens our democracy.
08:02We must always remember,
08:05workers are not merely employees.
08:07They are the heart and soul
08:08of our nation.
08:10They are the bedrock
08:11of our democracy.
08:12They sustain our economy.
08:14They uphold our communities,
08:16and they embody
08:17the spirit of service
08:18and sacrifice
08:19upon which our great nation
08:21was built.
08:22Under our leadership,
08:24we pledge that they will always
08:25be justly respected,
08:27fairly rewarded,
08:28and never again be treated
08:30as expendable.
08:31And I'm sure
08:32the former Minister of Finance
08:34and former Ministers of Finance,
08:36because I think one was fired
08:37and then another one
08:38brought.
08:39Where you want to go
08:40where we are getting the money,
08:41we will find the money
08:42to do the right thing,
08:44to make sure,
08:45to make sure
08:45that the workers
08:46are taken care of.
08:48And so this is part
08:49of that promise,
08:50and I know for the past months
08:52where you're getting the money,
08:53where you're getting the money.
08:54Minister, the money is there.
08:55It's to use your creativity,
08:57your intelligence,
08:58and your integrity
08:59to place the money
09:01where it rightfully belongs
09:02to reward people.
09:05Our budget statement
09:07will be in early October.
09:09We will share with you
09:10many more ideas we have
09:12for creating more revenue streams
09:14and, of course,
09:15for creating more jobs.
09:16So I will not go into that today.
09:18So let me assure this Honourable House,
09:20let me assure the national community,
09:22this is not an isolated measure.
09:25It is the first step
09:26in a comprehensive program
09:28to address and settle
09:29outstanding negotiations
09:31across the public service
09:33and the state sector.
09:35We made a promise to the people.
09:37Today we prove once again
09:38promises made
09:40are promises kept.
09:44Mr. Speaker,
09:46Sri Lanka and Tobago
09:47must never forget.
09:49The former PNM regime's obstruction
09:51was not only a betrayal of workers,
09:53it was a betrayal of our citizens,
09:56and it was a direction of duty
09:58to the nation itself.
09:59For ten years,
10:01it placed politics above people,
10:03abandoning their responsibility
10:05and leaving ordinary families
10:07to pay the price of their neglect.
10:09In contrast,
10:10my government
10:10has demonstrated strength,
10:13vision,
10:13and resolve.
10:14As I close,
10:15Mr. Speaker,
10:16I say again,
10:17my government
10:18is restoring justice,
10:20rebuilding trust,
10:21and setting a new standard
10:22of government.
10:23In this new paradigm,
10:29workers are never pawns
10:31in partisan games,
10:32but permanent partners
10:33in national progress.
10:35This is a government
10:36which is to be measured
10:38not by petty spite
10:39or partisan obstruction,
10:41but by our fidelity
10:43to the rule of law,
10:44the defense of democracy,
10:46and the justice
10:46it delivers to people.
10:49This is governments
10:50anchored in fairness,
10:52accountability,
10:52and delivery.
10:54It is about building a nation
10:55where every citizen
10:56can see and feel
10:57the results
10:58of sound policy
10:59in their salaries,
11:01in their dignity,
11:02in their communities,
11:04and in the opportunities
11:05secured for their children
11:06and their generations to come.
11:09This is our vision.
11:11This is our vision.
11:13A stronger, fairer,
11:14and more prosperous
11:16Trinidad and Tobago.
11:17And this is my solemn pledge
11:19to the people
11:20of Trinidad and Tobago.
11:22Under my leadership,
11:23we will always be a nation
11:25where rights are respected,
11:28democracy is upheld,
11:29and justice is delivered.
11:31This is a country
11:32where progress is shared
11:33with every section of society,
11:36seen in the dignity of work,
11:38felt in the strength
11:39of families,
11:40and lived in the daily hope
11:41of every community
11:42across the length
11:43and breadth of our country.
11:45This is a nation,
11:46under all governance,
11:48where partisan gazemanship
11:49and political abuse
11:51must never again
11:52be placed above people,
11:55and where the true measure
11:56of our democracy
11:57will always be the welfare
11:58and dignity
11:59of all our citizens.
12:01Mr. Speaker,
12:02I thank you.
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