A high-stakes industrial conflict is unfolding in Trinidad and Tobago, as state-backed telecommunications provider Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (TSTT) has issued a formal legal warning to its employees: any planned industrial action over a disputed 10% wage increase would violate national labor law. The confrontation comes as the broader national labor market grows increasingly tense, with another major public sector entity facing imminent work stoppage over unresolved wage talks.
The standoff between TSTT and the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) was triggered last week, after the union threatened to shut down company operations over the stalled wage increase demand. In a formal response, TSTT emphasized that under the country’s Industrial Relations Act, telecommunications is legally classified as an essential public service, meaning any form of strike or work stoppage by employees is prohibited by law.
The conflict centers on three core sticking points: the 10% wage increase demand, the status of ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the two parties, and the CWU’s claim that a preliminary agreement on the wage issue was already reached by both sides. In a formal letter dated August 14 addressed to CWU Secretary General Joanne Ogeer, TSTT Vice President of Corporate Services Roshan Babwah made clear that the company does not approve, authorize or support any industrial action that runs counter to the Industrial Relations Act.
TSTT also stressed that the formal collective bargaining process between the company and the union remains active, with the next round of negotiations scheduled to resume in early September 2026. “TSTT remains committed to engaging constructively and in good faith with the CWU, as the Recognised Majority Union, through the established collective bargaining process,” the letter read. “Negotiations are scheduled to resume in early September 2026, at which time the Company looks forward to continuing discussions towards a responsible, sustainable and mutually acceptable resolution of the outstanding matters.” The company added that no final collective agreement has been signed, and all outstanding issues remain under active negotiation.
Babwah also urged the union to remind its members of their legal obligations, warning that any interruption to TSTT’s services would carry severe consequences for residential customers, local businesses, government agencies, emergency response services and the broader national community. “The Company will therefore continue to take all lawful and reasonable measures to maintain critical operations, protect employees and company assets, as well as minimise any disruption to essential telecommunications services,” the letter noted.
Far from backing down, Ogeer has pushed back aggressively against TSTT’s warning, releasing a defiant response on the CWU’s official Facebook page. “We will neither retreat nor surrender,” Ogeer declared, adding that “heads will roll come Wednesday” when the planned industrial action is set to begin. The CWU leader rejected TSTT’s claim that the action would be illegal, insisting the union would operate fully within the bounds of Trinidad and Tobago’s labor law. She also called on the company to revisit the claimed preliminary agreement, saying “The Company should meet with the Union and let’s examine what was ‘agreed upon’ and move past this, because we will be acting well within the confines of the law. This is not a threat, this is a mature suggestion.”
Ogeer also questioned the company’s priorities, pointing to its recent record-breaking financial results. “You cannot boast of ‘biggest profits’ but withholding from the very said workers who built this Company,” she said, adding “enough is enough.” She also called on the public to support the union’s action, noting that CWU is a responsible organization and would issue a formal call for public solidarity when the action begins. Ogeer also made a point of questioning whether Babwah, who also serves as chairman of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), had issued a similar legal warning to the Public Services Association (PSA), which represents WASA workers planning their own industrial action this week over unresolved wage issues.
The labor dispute comes on the heels of landmark financial results for TSTT. Last month, the company and its subsidiary Amplia Communications Ltd announced its strongest annual financial performance in 17 years. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, the group posted an after-tax profit of TT $214 million, a 103% jump from the previous year’s after-tax profit of TT $106 million recorded in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The escalating standoff between TSTT and CWU caps a week of growing labor tensions across Trinidad and Tobago’s public sector, with WASA workers set to launch their own industrial action tomorrow over their own unresolved wage negotiation disputes.