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A deep political rift over Trinidad and Tobago’s employment landscape has erupted, as Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has publicly called into question Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s bold assertion that the current administration has added 15,000 new jobs to the national economy over a 12-month period.

Speaking at the Opposition’s weekly press briefing in Port of Spain on the previous day, Beckles anchored her challenge in official data released by the country’s Central Statistical Office (CSO). The official figures, she confirmed, show that total employment across the nation dropped by 5,900 positions between the final quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Over the same window, the national unemployment rate climbed from 4.3% to 5.4%, with female workers bearing a disproportionate share of the employment decline.

Beckles rejected the government’s attempt to frame the contraction as a routine seasonal shift tied to post-Christmas holiday hiring patterns, noting that job cuts rippled across nearly every major sector of the national economy. CSO data, she said, recorded employment declines between January and March 2026 in petroleum and gas, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, utilities, construction, transportation and logistics, communications, community services, and agriculture. This broad-based drop directly contradicts the Prime Minister’s claim of 15,000 net jobs created between April 2025 and April 2026, she argued.

She also brought attention to Persad-Bissessar’s own admission that two major government work programs, CEPEP and URP, have been severely undermined by systemic inefficiency and widespread corruption. In a direct challenge to the Prime Minister, Beckles asked: “I want to ask the Prime Minister whether or not the Prime Minister stands by the figures that they have produced, 15,000 jobs delivered?”

Beyond the immediate 15,000 job claim, Beckles raised new doubts about the government’s core election pledge to create 50,000 new jobs during its term, noting that the latest official figures make meeting that target increasingly unlikely. She added that opposition constituency offices across the country continue to be flooded with requests from unemployed constituents seeking work, saying: “They can tell you the category when persons come to their offices. What are people coming for? Books and uniforms, jobs, jobs, jobs. But this Government will have you believe that they have created so much jobs.”

Beckles also pushed back against claims attributed to Persad-Bissessar that recent job losses stemmed from the elimination of so-called “ghost programmes” — state-funded schemes riddled with criminal activity and corruption. She argued that these remarks unfairly stigmatize thousands of innocent workers who have lost their livelihoods, calling on female workers, who have seen the steepest employment drops, to take note of the prime minister’s characterization. While Beckles acknowledged that a small share of working-age citizens may be unwilling to take up employment, she condemned the government for painting all recently laid-off workers with a broad brush of corruption and idleness: “But you want to tell the people of Trinidad and Tobago, having fired almost 50,000 people, that you want to tell everybody, all of them involved in drugs, everything was freeness, everything was corruption, and everything was ghosts.”

In addition to the broader national employment debate, Beckles criticized the government’s inaction on the looming crisis at Hilton Trinidad, where an unresolved lease dispute threatens to put up to 300 workers out of a job. The union representing hotel staff has confirmed that more than 250 people are currently employed at the property, and workers have been warned that the hotel could close within weeks if the lease is not renewed. Beckles demanded immediate clarity from both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Trade on the status of the lease negotiations to protect the affected workers’ livelihoods.

A proposed national policy that would require all people aged 16 and older — including both local citizens and foreign visitors — to carry valid official identification in all public spaces has sparked a range of responses across Trinidad and Tobago, with stakeholders in the country’s iconic steelpan community largely backing the plan while some members of the public have raised privacy and ideological concerns.

The policy announcement came last Wednesday from Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who confirmed the administration would move forward with drafting and enacting new legislation to formalize the mandatory ID requirement. The proposal has since opened up dialogue across different sectors of society, with steelpan organizers, one of the nation’s most culturally significant community groups, highlighting unexpected practical benefits the rule could deliver for young pannists participating in the country’s world-famous Panorama steelband competition.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the launch of two new steelpan-themed tracks — *Unshakeable Queen of Pan* and *Pannists’ Achievements* — held at Port of Spain’s Queen’s Park Savannah, Clyde Telemaque, external relations officer for Pan Trinbago, the governing body for steelpan in Trinidad and Tobago, explained that formal ID would streamline payment processes for minor participants aged 10 to 14 who take part in Panorama events. Telemaque noted that currently, many young pannists lack official identification, which in turn prevents them from opening personal bank accounts. This forces organizers to issue competition payments to parents or guardians, creating confusion and unfair barriers for the young musicians who earned the funds. By requiring ID for all people 16 and up, Telemaque argued, the new policy will build a formal pathway for younger participants to get their own ID and bank accounts, simplifying the entire remuneration process both during and after Panorama events.

Terry Bernard, vice president of Pan Trinbago, also expressed his full support for the policy, saying he backed any measure that he believes will advance national progress. Rejecting reflexive opposition for political purposes, Bernard said the public should extend trust to the elected government to craft policies that serve the public good, adding that he also supports expanded police checkpoints tied to the policy. Beyond the ID rule itself, Bernard tied the policy to Pan Trinbago’s broader mission of drawing more young people into steelbands, framing steelpan communities as sacred local spaces that teach critical values including etiquette, teamwork, and national patriotism while opening life-changing opportunities for children and youth.

Other prominent cultural figures echoed this measured support. Renowned poet Eintou Pearl Springer noted she already carries her ID at all times and has no objection to the mandate, acknowledging that all policies carry both potential benefits and drawbacks but arguing that ordinary citizens should not face undue punishment for minor compliance issues. Roger Thomas, manager of the Curepe-based Moods Steel Orchestra, framed the policy as a progressive step to align Trinidad and Tobago’s public safety framework with international norms, pointing out that similar mandatory ID rules are already in place in the United Kingdom.

Some private citizens also voiced support, with one parent noting that obtaining official ID is a widely accepted rite of passage into adulthood, and that they had already secured an ID for their child independent of the government’s proposed mandate. But not all reactions have been positive. Jason, a Port of Spain taxi driver, argued that the rule is a sweeping surveillance measure that allows authorities to track the movements of all residents. He specifically referenced the recent police manhunt and fatal shooting of escaped prisoner Robby Khadoo in San Fernando as an example of the tracking capabilities the government already holds, and claimed the policy would help authorities restrict the movement of Venezuelan migrants in the country, adding that he believes informants already help police monitor civilian activity. One female member of the public also launched an angry, profanity-laced critique of the policy, directing her anger at opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar over the proposal.