At least 498 workers have been served retrenchment letters from the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT), today, May 31. According to a statement from the company, 403 employees, comprising a mix of Junior and Senior Staff and Estate Police officers will, in keeping with the Collective Agreements with their representative unions, each receive payment in lieu of the regulatory 45 days’ notice.

The following is a press release from TSTT:

“Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT), today initiated its restructuring exercise with 468 employees receiving retrenchment notices. Of this number, 403 employees, comprising a mix of Junior and Senior Staff and Estate Police officers will, in keeping with the Collective Agreements with their representative unions, each receive payment in lieu of the regulatory 45 days’ notice.

On January 17, 2022, TSTT invited its employee representative unions to consultations regarding the proposed restructuring and refinement of its operating/business model. Consultations with employees and the representative majority unions, including the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) and Estate Police Association (EPA) began on February 1 and were conducted in good faith and in line with best Industrial Relations practice. The company engaged with the RMUs and its employees by meeting virtually and by exchange of communication on matters related to the need for change, the rationale for the proposed structure, and its staffing.

The need to restructure TSTT is urgent and critical, necessitated both by the impact of challenging economic conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the drastic effect of changes in technology on the company’s operation and performance.
In the financial year ended 31st March 2021, TSTT’s revenue fell by TT$453 million – 18% less than the prior year.

This material decline was partly due to issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic and a combination of economic and technological factors both unique to the Trinidad and Tobago market as a direct result of the global digital revolution in the telecommunications industry. Regionally and internationally, networks are under pressure: internet traffic is growing exponentially, but the price per gigabyte is declining almost as rapidly, and the result is a downward pressure on revenue growth and margins.”