The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) has expressed strong endorsement for the Trinidad and Tobago government’s proposed amendments to the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act (RSBA), marking a significant advancement in worker protections. Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Leroy Baptiste announced these comprehensive reforms during a January 11 press conference, emphasizing their purpose to “widen the safety net for retrenched workers.
The proposed legislative overhaul addresses multiple critical areas of worker protection. Key revisions include expanding eligibility criteria for severance benefits and substantially increasing compensation structures. Under the current system, employees with less than three years of service receive two weeks’ pay per year, while those exceeding five years qualify for three weeks. The new framework proposes three weeks’ pay annually for one to five years of service, and a full month’s pay per year for employees with over five years of service.
A fundamental change involves redefining “redundancy” to include insolvency, receivership, and operational discontinuation—addressing longstanding loopholes that allowed unscrupulous employers to avoid obligations. Minister Baptiste explained that current definitions limited to “surplus labour” have enabled companies to evade responsibilities through strategic closures, leaving workers without recourse.
The OWTU, which had been advocating for these changes for three years prior to the announcement, highlighted several critical improvements. These include establishing a Severance Benefits Fund aligned with International Labour Organisation Convention No. 173, prioritizing worker compensation above other claimants during company insolvencies, and mandating formal consultation processes between employers and recognized unions.
Additional protections address temporary layoffs by defining judicial criteria, establishing clear procedures, and granting severance entitlements after 90 days unless mutually agreed otherwise. The amendments also introduce priority rehiring provisions for laid-off workers, consistent with ILO Recommendation No. 166, providing job security measures.
The union characterized these reforms as “decisive steps in the right direction” that modernize outdated compensation formulas and align with regional benchmarks. The OWTU reaffirmed its commitment to constructive engagement ensuring full implementation of these worker-focused reforms across Trinidad and Tobago.