Trinidad and Tobago
The ITUC affiliates in Trinidad and Tobago are the All Trinidad General Workers’ Trade Union (ATGWTU) and the National Trade Union Centre of Trinidad and Tobago (NATUC).
Trinidad and Tobago ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1963 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1963.
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
The right to freedom of association is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination.
Barriers to the establishment of organisations
- Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union
- Every trade union shall be registered (section 10(1), Trade Unions Act). Compliance may be achieved by obtaining the Registrar's prior approval to form a trade union, and in fact registering within six months of its formation (section 10(2), Trade Unions Act).
- Sanctions imposed for organising or joining an organisation not officially recognised
- Every secretary, trustee, member of the committee, or other officer of an unregistered trade union is liable on summary conviction to a fine of forty dollars for every day during which the trade union remains unregistered (section 10(5), Trade Unions Act).
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- The Registrar may at any time order the books, accounts, vouchers, documents, securities and funds of any trade union to be inspected or audited by some fit and proper person or persons appointed by him or her, and the secretary, treasurer and other officers of a trade union shall make available to the person or persons so appointed all the accounts, books, documents, vouchers, securities and funds of the trade union for purposes of inspection or audit (section 16(4), Trade Unions Act). This obligation is in addition to the requirement to submit a general statement of receipts, funds, effects and expenditure to the Registrar before 1 June every year (section 29(1), Trade Unions Act).
- Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes
- Substantive and procedural restrictions are placed on the use of trade union funds, either directly or in conjunction with any other trade union, association, or body, or otherwise indirectly, in the furtherance of any political object (section 33, Trade Unions Act). Further, the Certification Board (a non-judicial, tripartite board established under the Industrial Relations Act) has broad powers with respect to the arrangements for, and trade unions entitled to participate in, collective bargaining. It also has the sole power to make agency shop orders under Part VI of the Industrial Relations Act.
- Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations
- The Registrar may withdraw a certificate of registration if in his/her opinion the principal objectives for which the trade unions being carried on are not statutory objectives (section 18(1)(d), Trade Unions Act). Statutory objects of a trade union mean the regulation of the relations between workers and supervisors, or between workers and workers, or between supervisors and supervisors, or the imposing of restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and also the provision of benefits to members (section 2, Trade Unions Act).
Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office
- Others categories
- Apprentices (within the meaning of the Industrial Training Act) and university and other higher education teachers are excluded from the protections established by the Industrial Relations Act (section 2(3)).
- Other civil servants and public employees
- Public officers, members of the Teaching Service (as defined in the Education Act), and members of the staff and employees of the Central Bank as established under the Central Bank Act, are excluded from the scope of the Industrial Relations Act (section 2(3)).
- Managerial and supervisory staff
- A person who, in the opinion of the Board (1) is responsible for the formulation of policy in any undertaking or business or the effective control of the whole or any department of any undertaking or business; or (2) has an effective voice in the formulation of policy in any undertaking or business, is excluded from the protections established by the Industrial Relations Act (section 2(3)(e)).
- Domestic workers
- Persons employed in any capacity of a domestic nature, including that of a chauffeur, gardener or handyman in or about a private dwelling house and paid by the householder, are excluded from the protections established by the Industrial Relations Act (section 2(3)(f)).
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents
- Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to bargain collectively
- A recognised majority union or employer that proposes to initiate the negotiation of a collective agreement shall send to the Minister particulars of the several matters and things on which agreement is to be negotiated (section 44(1), Industrial Relations Act).
- Excessive requirements in respect to trade unions’ representativity or minimum number of members required to bargaining collectively
- A trade union must satisfy the Certification Board that it has, on the relevant date, more than 50 per cent of the workers comprised in the appropriate bargaining unit as members in good standing. Further, a worker shall not be held to be a member in good standing unless the Board is satisfied that (1) the union of which it is alleged the worker is a member in good standing has followed sound accounting procedures and practices; (2) the particular worker has (i) become a member of the union after having paid a reasonable sum by way of entrance fee and has actually paid reasonable sums by way of contributions for a continuous period of eight weeks immediately before the application was made or deemed to have been made or (ii) actually paid reasonable sums by way of contributions for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately before the application was made or deemed to have been made; (3) no part of the funds of the union of which it is alleged the worker is a member in good standing has been applied directly or indirectly in the payment of the entrance fee or contributions referred to in item 2; and (4) the worker should be considered a member in good standing having regard to good industrial relations practice (section 34(1) and (3), Industrial Relations Act).
- Absence of criteria or discretionary, unclear or unreasonable criteria for determining representative organisations
- Section 24(3) of the Civil Service Act affords a privileged position to already registered associations, without providing objective and pre-established criteria for determining the most representative association in the civil service.
Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining
- Exclusion of certain matters from the scope of bargaining (e.g. wages, hours)
- A collective agreement may not contain any of the following terms: (1) any provision that any benefits under the agreement are to apply only to members of a particular union; (2) any clause excluding or limiting the application of the provision of the Industrial Relations Act or the agreement; (3) any clause specifying that the employer must employ only members of a particular union or must show any preference or favour regarding recruitment, offer of employment, retrenchment or termination of employment, only to members of a particular union (section 43(5), Industrial Relations Act).
- Prohibition or limitation of collective bargaining at a certain level (local, regional, territorial, national; enterprise, industry, sector or general)
- The bargaining level shall be determined by the Certification Board in accordance with Part III of the Industrial Relations Act.
- Compulsory conciliation and / or binding arbitration procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining, other than in essential services
- Authorities’ or employers’ power to unilaterally annul, modify or extend content and scope of collective agreements
- The parties to a registered collective agreement may be unilaterally changed in the event that the trade union party to the agreement ceases to be recognised as the majority union (section 35(c), Industrial Relations Act).
Restrictions on the scope of application and legal effectiveness of concluded collective agreements
- Endorsed collective agreements not regarded as legally binding or enforceable
- A collective agreement is not binding until registered by the Court in accordance with section 46 of the Industrial Relations Act (section 47).
- Restrictions on the duration, scope of application or coverage of collective agreements
- The term of a collective agreement must be not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, unless special exception is made by the Court (section 43(1), Industrial Relations Act).
- Authorities’ approval of freely concluded collective agreements
- A concluded collective agreement must be transmitted to the Minister together with a request by the parties, or any of them, for the registration of the agreement by the Court (section 44(2), Industrial Relations Act).
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors
- Other civil servants and public employees
- Public officers, members of the Teaching Service (as defined in the Education Act), and members of the staff and employees of the Central Bank as established under the Central Bank Act, are excluded from the scope of the Industrial Relations Act (section 2(3)).
- Other categories
- The following categories of workers are excluded from the scope of the Industrial Relations Act: (1) persons employed in a teaching capacity by a university or other institutions of higher learning; (2) apprentices; (3) domestic workers; (4) persons responsible for the formulation of policy in any undertaking or business, or who have the effective control of the whole or any department of undertaking or business; and (5) persons who have an effective voice in the formulation of policy in any undertaking or business (section 2(3), Industrial Relations Act).
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Barriers to lawful strike actions
- Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to hold a lawful strike
- The Minister must certify that the dispute is an unresolved dispute in accordance with section 59 of the Industrial Relations Act before a party can take strike action (section 60(3), Industrial Relations Act).
- Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required to hold a lawful strike
- Only a recognised majority trade union may pursue interest disputes (sections 59 and 60, Industrial Relations Act). In order to be a recognised majority trade union, the trade union must satisfy the Certification Board that it has, on the relevant date, more than 50 per cent of the workers comprised in the appropriate bargaining unit as members in good standing (section 34, Industrial Relations Act).
Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions
- Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons)
- Strike action may not be taken in furtherance of disputes concerning the application to any worker of existing terms and conditions of employment or the denial of any right applicable to any worker in respect of his or her employment or the dismissal, employment, non-employment, suspension from employment, refusal to employ, re-employment or reinstatement of any worker (sections 59, Industrial Relations Act).
Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike
- Authorities’ or employers’’’ power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike action
- Where industrial action is threatened or taken, whether in conformity with the Industrial Relations Act or otherwise, and the Minister considers that the national interest is threatened or affected thereby, s/he may make application to the Court ex parte for an injunction restraining the parties from commencing or from continuing the action; and the Court may make such order thereon as it considers fit having regard to the national interest (section 65 (1), Industrial Relations Act).
- Authorities’ or employers’ power to prevent or end a strike by referring the dispute to arbitration
- The Minister shall refer an unresolved dispute to Court where a period of three months of continuing industrial action has elapsed and there is a request to the Minister by either party to refer the dispute to the Court for final determination (section 61(d), Industrial Relations Act).
Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness
- Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike actions
- A trade union may have its certificate of recognition cancelled, and be liable for a fine of $10,000, if it is involved in industrial action that does not conform with the Industrial Relations Act (sections 63(1)(b) and 63(2)). Where a worker takes part in such action the employer may treat the action as a fundamental breach of contract going to the root of the contract of employment of the worker (section 63(1)(c), Industrial Relations Act). Further, an essential services worker who takes industrial action in connection with any such essential service is liable on conviction to a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for six months (section 67(4), Industrial Relations Act). A person who, for the purpose of promoting or maintaining the conduct of industrial action taken or continued in an essential service, directly or indirectly contributes financial assistance to an employer or a trade union that calls for or causes such action to be taken or to any worker involved in such action, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 and to imprisonment for 18 months (section 68(1), Industrial Relations Act). Similar sanctions are imposed on workers and trade unions involved in industrial action by members of the public, prison, fire and teaching services of Trinidad and Tobago, or by members of the staff and other employees of the Central Bank (section 69, Industrial Relations Act).
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Undue restrictions for “public servants”
- Section 69 of the Industrial Relations Act provides that the following persons shall not take part in any industrial action: (a) members of the Public Service in Trinidad and Tobago; (b) members of the Prison Service of Trinidad and Tobago; (c) members of the Fire Service of Trinidad and Tobago; (d) members of the Teaching Service; and (e) members of the staff and other employees of the Central Bank, established by the Central Bank Act.
- Discretionary determination or excessively long list of “essential services” in which the right to strike is prohibited or severely restricted
- The second schedule to the Industrial Relations Act provides that the following categories of services are essential services in which the right to strike is prohibited under section 67 of that Act: 1. Electricity Service (Generation, Transmission and Distribution) 2. Water and Sewerage Services 3. Internal Telephone Service 4. External Communications (Telephone, Telegraph, Wireless) 5. Fire Service 6. Health Services 7. Hospital Services 8. Sanitation Services (including scavenging) 9. Public School Bus Service 10. Civil Aviation Services (including all services provided by a commercial airline, the majority of the aircraft of which are registered in Trinidad and Tobago or are owned by citizens of Trinidad and Tobago or by a company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago; aircraft maintenance; refuelling and ramp services; air traffic control and meteorological services; and airline catering services).
In practice
On 26 August 2019, Watson Duke, president of Trinidad and Tobago’s Public Services Association (PSA) and the minority leader of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), was charged with seditious intent under section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act and arrested for statements he made in a speech back in 2018. At the time, there were rumours of possible mass retrenchment at public companies which included the national water company, WASA.
The fact that the Sedition Act originates from laws made under the British colonial government has caused many to question whether it impinges upon citizens’ freedom of speech. Designed to protect against rebellion against the state’s authority by punishing insurrectionary acts or declarations and suppressing iconoclastic publications, the Sedition Act remained in place even after the country became independent from Great Britain in 1962 and was in fact amended several times to criminalise any person or publication deemed to be carrying out seditious acts or communicating with seditious intent.
This is not the first time that the Act has been carried out in recent years. After Duke was released from police custody on 31 August — Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence Day — his attorney said that his client may well join others in challenging the act.
On 5 September 2019, the general secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (Natuc), Michael Annisette, called on Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to repeal the Sedition Act and hand-delivered to Al-Rawi’s ministry a letter containing the request. Other unions involved were the Oilfield Workers Trade Union, Transport and Industrial Workers Trade Union, PSA, National Union of Government and Federated Workers, and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union.
Annisette said the big question is why the government of an independent country, which has suffered under the colonial yoke, would retain a law specially designed for the purpose of stifling the free expression of trade union movement and the working class.
On 16 November, the state telecommunications company TSTT announced plans to terminate 503 workers, mostly members of the majority union, the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU). In December 2018, the company cut 51 more jobs, at executive level, and redeployed the bosses to other departments within the company. According to the management, the dismissals are part of the TSTT’s strategy to modernise and restructure the company, to cut staff costs and to increase its profits and competitiveness on the market. In December 2018, the general secretary of the CWU, Clyde Elder, was forcibly ejected from the company’s premises after trying to meet with affiliated workers to provide them with advice. The union leader had to receive medical attention. The company, meanwhile, said that he should have asked for permission 72 hours in advance to be able to hold a meeting on its premises.
On 16 August 2018, lifeguards affiliated to the National Union of General and Federated Workers (NUGFW) staged a protest in front of the National Security Ministry to denounce the precarious working conditions of the country’s lifeguards. Trinidad and Tobago has just 115 lifeguards, insufficient to cover the island’s nine main beaches, working without adequate equipment to deal with emergencies. The president general of the union pointed out that lifeguards had been experiencing serious problems since being placed under the administration of the Security Ministry, where their work is considered to be of minor importance and its officials refuse to meet with their union, cancel their annual meetings without prior notice and lack the technical and financial resources required to meet the sector’s needs.
On 11 August 2018, workers from the Unified Health Sector Workers’ Union threatened to shut down the kitchen at the Point Fortin hospital, which did not meet the minimum sanitary conditions required. The workers had, for almost a year, been asking the hospital management to take measures to stop birds, insects and even venomous snakes from invading the premises, and to repair the buildings, some of which are on the point of collapse. They pointed out that the lives and safety of patients and workers were at permanent risk.
On 3 April 2018, the state-owned oil company Petrotrin signed an agreement with the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), committing to hold at least one meeting a month with the union’s executive, to discuss, review, monitor and ensure the progress of the working committees at the company. The two parties also agreed to engage in consultations on issues of governance, in light of the growing economic losses and the reports of corruption involving public money. On 15 July 2018, the workers downed tools and held a day of protest over the company’s failure to hold the monthly meetings and to contact the union to discuss the most pressing issues affecting the company’s operations. At the same time, the company announced plans to cut jobs to help overcome its financial difficulties.
On 22 October 2013, the National Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (NP) dismissed 68 employees including 12 union officers alleging that the workers participated in an “illegal work stoppage” at the head offices in Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain, in August. Indeed, the workers had used their right to refuse to work under unsafe conditions as stipulated under article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (2004) from 13-15 August 2013. First, the workers were suspended and subsequently dismissed. The company have been engaging in out sourcing jobs of permanent workers to contractors which created unsafe work environment and would have resulted in job losses. The union staged a large protest on NP’s compound on 30 October 2013 demanding the immediate reinstatement of the 68 workers.
Orville Carrington, the Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), was barred from entering the Ministry of Education for negotiations for having allegedly used threatening language. The union argued that the real reason for this order was to interfere with its right to represent the interests of workers in all workplaces.
The Southern branch of the company TSTT withheld workers’ salaries for the month of June after workers employed at the Cipero Rd. Work Centre and other work locations in the Southern District, took legitimate strike action to protect their health and safety. Workers had instigated a legal strike after repeatedly reminding management of its obligation to rectify serious health and safety infractions in accordance with the collective agreement.
Despite a reinstatement order by the court, the company Petrotrin refused to allow some members of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union to report for work on 23 March 2013. The workers had been suspended for participating in a protest in front of Tower D of the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Centre. The situation was resolved when the union complained to Petrotrin’s President.
The government continued to refuse to reform the law on essential services and collective bargaining to bring it into line with ILO minimum standards.
Many unions’ collective bargaining efforts were blocked by employers’ delaying tactics. The state also repeatedly refused to negotiate collective agreements with public sector unions.
Although the law states that workers can form and join trade unions, in practice everyone working in so-called “essential services”, which include domestic workers, drivers, gardeners, etc., are not recognised as workers and cannot therefore legally join unions. The problems with obtaining union recognition continued, owing to manipulation by the state.
Despite the many formalities and restrictions on the right to strike, a number of unions did call work stoppages in several sectors, as they have done for the last few years. In some cases the State intervened to stop the strike, penalising the workers involved.