00:00Healthcare workers and union leaders gathered outside the San Fernando Teaching Hospital on Friday,
00:05calling for long, outstanding salary negotiations to be resolved.
00:09President of the Trinidad and Tobago Nursing Association, Edie Stewart, says
00:13the demonstration is part of a wider push for wage adjustments for workers within the regional health authorities.
00:19All our dieticians, I see you. All our wardsmaids, all our lab techs, pharmacists, I see you and I recognize.
00:30Stewart also criticized a recent letter from the Southwest Regional Health Authority,
00:34which he says attempted to prevent union representatives from entering hospital facilities.
00:41But could you believe they have the goal, they have the audacity to actually write to the association
00:48and tell them you all are not permitted to come in the hospital.
00:53It's writing to the association and saying you all are not permitted.
00:58We're here! We're here! We're here!
01:01Union leaders say the dispute centers on long-standing salary negotiations affecting many workers
01:08employed directly by the regional health authorities.
01:12In December, the Ministry of Finance stated that RHA employees are not part of the core civil service,
01:18meaning a recent salary settlement negotiated with the Public Services Association cannot automatically apply to them.
01:26Union representatives say workers deserve fair compensation, especially after their role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:34Why is this in this country, 2026, where rights are supposed to be recognized?
01:40Collective bargaining is a right of all workers, and they are timing the progress.
01:47Protest action also drew support from other labor groups, including the Steelworkers Union,
01:52the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association, and the Contractors and General Workers Trade Union.
01:58Union leaders say additional demonstrations are planned in the coming weeks,
02:02including actions in Sangre Grandi and Port of Spain, as they continue to press for salary negotiations.
02:09And they insist the protest movement has only just begun.
02:14No retreat! No retreat! No retreat! No retreat!
Comments