As street protests by disgruntled workers unfolded in the nation’s capital yesterday, a landmark $66.1 million settlement between the state-owned Power Generation Company (PowerGen) and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) was formally tabled in the national Parliament. The historic deal closes a nearly decadelong industrial dispute that first emerged in 2015, bringing long-overdue financial relief to roughly 150 eligible frontline PowerGen employees who had been waiting for resolution of their unmet wage claims across two prior bargaining cycles. Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath laid out the full details of the agreement during a parliamentary address, framing the settlement as a tangible reversal of nearly a decade of worker neglect under the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration. The negotiated package delivers a cumulative 9% wage increase phased across five years, with tiered annual increments of 0.5% for 2016, 3% for 2017, 1% for 2018, 1.5% for 2019, and 3% for 2020. All backpay owed to the 150 OWTU-represented workers is scheduled to be disbursed in full no later than December 15, putting critical funds directly into households ahead of the Christmas holiday season. Rather than dragging the case through a prolonged ruling process at the Industrial Court, the two parties reached the full agreement through good-faith bilateral negotiations, removing the long-pending dispute from the court’s docket entirely. Minister Padarath emphasized that the deal extends far beyond a simple financial transaction, framing it as long-overdue justice for employees who were left in limbo for years by the former administration’s inaction. He echoed a recent public challenge from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who had called on all trade union leaders to prioritize their members’ livelihoods over partisan political interests, noting that this settlement serves as a concrete demonstration of how collaborative, meaningful dialogue outperforms divisive political posturing that the minister labeled “political thuggery.” The breakthrough deal is also expected to create a clear, collaborative precedent for resolving outstanding wage claims for an additional 87 PowerGen staff members, including 26 employees represented by the Senior Staff Association and 61 non-union professional personnel, whose bargaining terms have historically been aligned with agreements struck between PowerGen and the OWTU. Officials are already optimistic that the momentum from this successful negotiation will accelerate resolution of those remaining pending cases. The minister also highlighted the agreement’s significance as the government rolls out broader national initiatives to expand electricity generation and distribution capacity across the country, noting that fair, timely compensation for power sector workers is a foundational requirement for building a more robust, reliable national energy grid. Padarath went on to briefly address widespread unplanned electricity outages that impacted multiple communities across Trinidad in recent days, noting that the disruptions stemmed from unplanned shutdowns at independent power generation facilities. He acknowledged the significant inconvenience the outages caused for residential citizens and local businesses, confirming that state utility T&TEC is coordinating closely with Trinidad Generation Unlimited and all independent power producers to roll out targeted corrective measures, restore full generating capacity, and stabilize grid operations. Padarath attributed the root cause of the outage vulnerabilities to chronic underinvestment and poor maintenance practices across power purchase firms during the 9.5-year tenure of the former PNM administration, adding that ongoing technical investigations are being conducted to identify systemic gaps and prevent future recurrence. He concluded by stating that the current administration’s commitment goes far beyond temporary supply restoration, with a long-term mandate to upgrade the overall reliability and resilience of the national electricity network for all residents.