The Trinidad and Tobago Nurses Association (TTRNA) has officially declared its non-participation in any planned labor actions by Regional Health Authority (RHA) personnel demanding a ten percent wage increase. This development follows recent political promises made during the general election campaign earlier this year.
TTRNA President Idi Stuart clarified the association’s position on December 13th, responding to statements from Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo regarding potential worker protests. Through an official WhatsApp communication, Stuart emphasized that “the association is not a participant currently in that measure that is being planned.”
Despite not endorsing industrial action, the nurses’ association expressed solidarity with RHA workers across Trinidad and Tobago who feel excluded from recent wage negotiations. Stuart specifically referenced the disappointment among health workers regarding their exclusion from partial back pay arrangements that were extended to public servants following concluded negotiations between the Public Services Association (PSA) and the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).
The TTRNA president articulated that all RHA workers deserve to benefit from backpay during the Christmas period, suggesting that once proper negotiations conclude between recognized majority unions and the CPO within RHAs, workers could potentially receive more than the $20,000 promised to public servants.
Stuart identified the three primary unions representing RHA workers as TTRNA itself, the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT), and the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW). He proposed a practical solution where the government could advance payments to RHA workers now and deduct the difference after formal negotiations conclude.
Finance Minister Tancoo’s December 12th statement emphasized the government’s respect for collective bargaining processes while maintaining fiscal responsibility. He clarified the legal distinction between RHA employees and core public servants, noting that RHAs operate under separate legislation from the Civil Service Act.
The minister explained that while transferred staff received initial employment term guarantees, this did not constitute “an open-ended guarantee that every future civil service wage increase would automatically follow them into the RHAs.” Tancoo reiterated that wage settlements for RHA employees must be negotiated separately between each RHA and its recognized majority union under the Industrial Relations Act.
The background to this dispute stems from the December 2nd Memorandum of Agreement between the PSA and CPO, which secured a ten percent wage increase for the bargaining periods of 2014-2016 and 2017-2019, with new salary payments commencing in January 2026 and retroactive allowances dating back to January 1, 2014.