标签： Trinidad and Tobago

In a landmark move to update decades-old employment regulations, Trinidad and Tobago’s Labour Minister Leroy Baptiste introduced a transformative amendment bill to the Senate Wednesday that aims to rewrite the rulebook for retrenchment practices and strengthen safeguards for workers facing job loss.

The Retrenchment and Severance Benefits (Amendment) Bill 2026 brings a slate of sweeping changes, including stricter accountability requirements for employers, expanded worker protections, and a marked increase in the minimum severance payments companies must issue to laid-off staff. Baptiste outlined that every core stage of the retrenchment process — from initial layoff planning to final severance payout — will be restructured under the new framework.

One of the bill’s most financially impactful adjustments comes via Clause 16, which revises the tiered minimum severance payment structure to deliver higher compensation for displaced workers. For non-monthly paid (hourly, daily or weekly) workers with one to fewer than five years of service, the minimum payout rises to three weeks’ pay per year of employment, while monthly-rated workers in the same tenure bracket will receive one month’s pay per year. For workers with five or more years of service, non-monthly workers get four weeks’ pay per year for the first four years, jumping to six weeks’ pay per year for each year starting from the fifth. Monthly-rated workers in this longer tenure group will receive one and a quarter months’ pay per year for the first four years, increasing to one and three-quarter months per year from the fifth year onward.

Clause 9 of the bill introduces a formal, regulated framework for temporary layoffs, a provision missing from the current outdated law. The new rule caps unagreed temporary layoffs at 90 calendar days; if a worker remains off the job beyond this window, they are automatically classified as redundant starting on the 91st day, triggering the employer’s legal requirement to issue full severance benefits. The legislation does build in limited flexibility: employers can extend the 90-day period if they reach a written agreement with either a recognized majority union representing the worker or the affected employee directly.

Another key mandate comes via Clause 10, which requires mandatory consultation with recognized majority unions before employers can issue formal redundancy notices. The mandatory consultation period is capped at 21 days unless both parties agree to an extension, and the bill mandates that discussions must be “meaningful and genuine” covering six critical areas: the justifications for proposed layoffs, strategies to avoid or reduce the number of job cuts, criteria for selecting which workers will be terminated, measures to ease the impact on displaced staff, paid time off for job searching, and alternative arrangements such as redeployment, reduced working hours, or temporary layoffs. Employers are also required to disclose all relevant information to facilitate these talks, with a narrow exception for information that would cause material harm to the business if released.

Additional worker-focused provisions include Clause 12, which requires employers that fail to meet the new 45-day minimum notice period for layoffs to pay the equivalent of wages for the full missed notice period. Clause 13 enshrines a new right for workers facing redundancy to take reasonable paid time off to seek new employment. Clause 14 adds a rehiring preference mandate: if an employer looks to fill a role identical or substantially similar to one made redundant within the previous six months, they must prioritize offering the position to the previously retrenched worker, and are required to make reasonable efforts to notify former staff of the opening.

Addressing the Senate during debate on the legislation, Baptiste framed the bill as one of the most consequential overhauls to the nation’s labour legal framework in a generation, saying it carries profound social, economic and moral significance for working people across the country. The reform directly addresses the lived experiences of workers who have faced job displacement due to corporate restructuring, insolvency, receivership and business collapse, he added.

Baptiste also used the speech to criticize the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, saying the public was misled into believing comprehensive labour reform was a top PNM priority, yet the update languished for years without decisive action. He noted that the existing retrenchment law has not been updated since 1985, calling the outdated framework one of the country’s “greatest injustices” against workers, pointing to the 2016 closure of ArcelorMittal as a glaring example of the law’s failures. That sudden shuttering displaced roughly 1,400 workers including contract staff, and laid bare the gaps in the country’s outdated employment protection rules, Baptiste said.

On April 23, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) approved the landmark Tobago Marine Parks Bill 2026 during a special sitting held at the Assembly Chamber in Scarborough. The date of the vote carried profound symbolic weight: it marked the eighth birthday that Angelica Saydee Jogie, a young child killed in a high-profile jet ski collision off Tobago’s Pigeon Point beach in April, would have celebrated.

Angelica lost her life on April 8 when an out-of-bounds jet ski collided with her and her family during what was meant to be a pre-birthday getaway. Speaking ahead of the vote, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, who sponsored the bill, reflected on the tragedy that pushed forward this long-stalled legislation. The family had traveled to Tobago specifically because the island represented joy, peace and natural beauty to their children, Augustine noted. What should have been a celebratory trip turned into an unthinkable nightmare for the Jogie family, he added, joining their call for urgent regulation of unregulated recreational watercraft after the incident. Angelica’s mother Salisha Jogie has repeatedly called for a full ban on jet skis across Tobago’s public swimming beaches in the wake of her daughter’s death.

The core purpose of the new bill is to establish a formal, enforceable legislative framework for the protection, adaptive management and sustainable use of all of Tobago’s marine protected areas. It aims to preserve fragile coastal biodiversity, secure marine ecosystems for future generations, and clarify enforcement powers to crack down on unsafe or illegal watercraft activity in designated swimming zones. Key enforcement provisions outline steep penalties for anyone who interferes with authorized inspectors – including police officers and Coast Guard personnel – carrying out their official duties under the law. Individuals convicted of obstructing enforcement face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 12 months of imprisonment, sending a clear signal about the seriousness of regulatory compliance.

Augustine confirmed that following the THA’s approval, the bill will move to Trinidad and Tobago’s national Parliament for final consideration within the next two to three weeks. He noted that while the legislation shares core foundations with a 2020 bill drafted when the People’s National Movement (PNM) controlled the THA, the previous PNM-led national government allowed the proposal to languish for years without action. He criticized former PNM Prime Minister Keith Rowley for publicly calling for a jet ski ban after leaving office, pointing out that Rowley’s own administration failed to advance the necessary legislation when it had the power to do so. Augustine emphasized that the THA can only set policy; enforceable national law is required to put that policy into practice, a point Rowley omitted in his post-office commentary.

The Chief Secretary also raised pointed concerns about ongoing enforcement gaps at the popular Buccoo Reef Marine Park, noting that just one week after Angelica’s death, jet ski operators were still found operating illegally in zones marked exclusively for swimmers. He accused the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of failing to intervene against these trespassing operators, warning that if any future incident leads to legal action against the THA, his administration will direct its legal team to shift responsibility to the Attorney General and the national central government. Augustine argued that the THA has fulfilled its duty by creating policy, running public education campaigns and marking restricted zones, but it cannot enforce rules without the full backing of national law and active cooperation from national law enforcement agencies, which have left the THA unable to act effectively to date.

A major leadership transition is unfolding at the top of the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS), coming on the heels of a shocking on-duty murder and unfolding allegations of widespread illegal weapons diversion linked to serving officers. Senior police and government sources confirm that current Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Mystar has been tapped to replace outgoing TTMPS head Surrendra Sagramsingh, who was placed on immediate administrative leave earlier this week to facilitate the ongoing investigation.

As of Thursday evening, however, Mystar had not yet received formal written documentation of his appointment, multiple sources close to the process confirmed to local media. Discussions to finalize the leadership change have already been concluded at the highest levels of both the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, with Mystar the unanimous pick to take over the troubled municipal force.

Sagramsingh, who has led the TTMPS for the past six years, publicly confirmed this week that he had been placed on leave. In a phone interview with the Express, he acknowledged the administrative action, noting that the decision was framed as a necessary step to preserve the impartiality and transparency of the ongoing probe into the murder of 33-year-old corporal Anuska Eversley and the theft of government firearms and ammunition from the San Fernando Municipal Police Station.

“Because of the investigation ongoing; and they wouldn’t want you to be around performing duty; and to ensure transparency in case they see a connection,” Sagramsingh explained of the official rationale. The long-serving officer added that while he would have preferred to remain on active duty, he has fully complied with the government’s directive. “The fact is I am in my career as a police officer (and) have been bent on service. So, definitely you would have preferred to have served. But if the authorities feel that is the best thing to do at the time, I am compliant,” he said.

The formal administrative order placing Sagramsingh on leave is laid out in an April 21, 2026 letter from acting permanent secretary Peter Mitchell. The letter clarifies that the leave is a precautionary procedural measure, not a finding of wrongdoing or liability on Sagramsingh’s part. He has been ordered not to report for duty or exercise any of his former official powers until further notice, but is required to remain accessible to investigators and fully cooperate with all inquiries.

The crisis rocking the TTMPS began early Sunday morning, when Eversley — a mother of three — was found dead inside the San Fernando Municipal Police Station at approximately 4:40 a.m. A post-mortem examination conducted this week confirmed the 33-year-old officer suffered blunt force trauma before being strangled and stabbed to death. To date, police have taken 10 people into custody for questioning in connection with Eversley’s killing.

Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation have uncovered disturbing ties between the murder and a wider alleged criminal ring operating within the municipal police force. Senior investigative sources told the Express that early probes point to a group of serving municipal officers who have allegedly been stealing police firearms and ammunition and selling the weapons to criminal gangs and underworld networks. Sources say the illegal trafficking operation is believed to have been active for between six and eight months, raising urgent questions about systemic oversight failures within the TTMPS that allowed the alleged scheme to continue undetected for months.

As the United National Congress (UNC) administration prepares to mark its first full year in power following the April 2025 general election, Trinidad and Tobago’s Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has delivered a scathing assessment of the government’s tenure, awarding it a failing 3-out-of-10 performance score. Speaking at a press briefing hosted Tuesday at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Port of Spain, Beckles outlined a litany of unmet promises and policy failures that she said have left ordinary citizens worse off.

At the top of Beckles’ list of criticisms is the government’s ongoing failure to curb rising violent crime and homicide rates across the country. She noted that the current state of emergency implemented to tackle public safety has yielded no measurable improvements, leaving communities still vulnerable to violent offending. She added that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has refused to engage transparently and honestly with the public on the most pressing issues affecting daily life.

On economic and employment fronts, Beckles argued that the UNC has betrayed core campaign pledges to create new jobs and expand access to affordable housing. Instead of delivering on promises of growth, Beckles said the administration has overseen mass layoffs of workers from two major public job programs — the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Unemployment Relief Programmes (URP). To date, she claimed, the government has not completed construction of a single new affordable housing unit, and no meaningful expansion of employment opportunities has materialized.

Beckles also pointed to widespread economic strain hitting local communities. During recent visits to public markets, she said, vendors reported that perishable goods are regularly going unsold and rotting, as cash-strapped consumers cut back on discretionary spending. She added that small and medium-sized businesses, the backbone of the local economy, are closing at alarming rates amid shrinking consumer demand.

A further point of contention is the government’s reversal on the Dragon natural gas deal negotiated with Venezuela by the previous administration. Beckles recalled that Persad-Bissessar had heavily criticized the agreement ahead of the election, even labeling Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez a narcotrafficker, and ultimately allowed the deal to collapse. Now, she said, the government claims it wants to secure its fair share of revenue from the deal, an incoherent shift that underscores the administration’s incoherent foreign and energy policy.

Turning to the government’s planned anniversary celebration — a public fete scheduled to take place Wednesday in Couva — Beckles warned Trinidad and Tobago residents not to accept the administration’s rosy narrative of progress. She said officials will likely attempt to claim crime is falling, the construction sector is growing, and the energy industry is attracting new investment, but none of these claims match on-the-ground reality.

In a fact check of the government’s construction claims, Beckles noted that domestic cement sales have dropped by 41% — a clear indicator that construction activity has not revived, contrary to official claims. She also pointed to rising unemployment in Tobago as further evidence of economic decline, and questioned what the administration has done with the property tax revenue collected by the previous government, breaking a campaign promise to reimburse those funds to eligible citizens.

Beckles also called out new tax measures implemented by the UNC, saying what citizens were promised would be a welcome “Christmas present” from the new administration turned out to be a slate of new and increased taxes: higher road traffic fines, a new landlord tax, and increased duties on alcohol, among other levies.

Beyond economic and public safety failures, Beckles highlighted crises in other key policy areas. She criticized the government’s push for full digitalization of the education system, noting that similar policies have failed to deliver improvements in other countries, and warned the shift is leaving disadvantaged students behind. She also confirmed the public health system is facing a severe ongoing crisis under the current administration, with reduced access to care for ordinary patients.

Concluding her assessment, Beckles said she could identify almost no policy areas where the one-year-old UNC administration has delivered meaningful success. She called on all Trinidad and Tobago residents to hold the government accountable for its broken promises and rejected the administration’s attempts to frame its first year in power as a success, labeling the government “heartless and wicked” for its treatment of unemployed and working-class citizens.

A sweeping security overhaul is underway in Trinidad and Tobago after a shocking incident of law enforcement-linked gun trafficking left an acting municipal police corporal dead and exposed months of illegal weapons diversion to criminal networks. All firearms held at local government municipal stations across the country are being moved to the custody of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), following a formal recommendation from Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro that has been immediately approved by senior government officials.

The urgent policy shift was triggered by the murder of Acting Corporal Anuska Eversley at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, which occurred last Sunday alongside the theft of a large cache of firearms and ammunition from the facility. What initially appeared to be an isolated violent robbery quickly unraveled into a far-reaching scandal, revealing that guns had been systematically stolen from the municipal station for months and sold on the black market to underworld criminal groups. Investigators have also uncovered evidence that municipal police officers falsified official station records to cover up the missing weapons, and Eversley herself is reported to be a key figure in the illegal racket, with investigators eyeing a fellow municipal officer as the primary suspect in her killing.

In a formal letter dated April 22, 2026, addressed to Minister of Rural and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, Guevarro outlined that preliminary reviews had uncovered widespread administrative irregularities in the Firearm User’s Licences issued to municipal corporations under the Ministry of Local Government. To address these gaps and bring all weapons holdings into compliance with national firearms legislation, Guevarro proposed the immediate transfer of all licensed municipal firearms to secure storage at designated police stations within their respective jurisdictions, following coordination with local division senior superintendents.

Under the new temporary arrangement, municipal officers will still be able to access assigned firearms for official duty directly from the police stations where they are stored. This structure preserves full operational capacity for municipal policing while implementing strict, accountable custody controls that were missing under the previous system. The transfer order will remain in effect until a full national audit and verification of all municipal firearms and ammunition is completed, and all relevant Firearm User’s Licences are brought into full regulatory compliance. Guevarro requested Ameen’s intervention to disseminate the order through her permanent secretary to all department heads with oversight of municipal weapons holdings.

Ameen, who also serves as Member of Parliament for St Augustine, confirmed in an interview with the Express that she accepted the recommendation immediately, issuing a direct directive to all chief executive officers of city, borough and regional corporations to comply with the transfer order without delay. She noted that the TTPS will partner with local government bodies to ensure full compliance across all jurisdictions. The existing allocation process for municipal firearms already requires the assistant commissioner overseeing municipal policing to submit formal requisitions for weapons and ammunition to the Police Commissioner, who then authorizes purchases — a process that will now be reviewed alongside broader regulatory reforms.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Guevarro announced that a full audit of firearms holdings at the San Fernando Municipal Corporation would be the first step, with permanent policy changes to follow once the scope of the irregularities is fully mapped. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar publicly addressed the scandal, confirming that the illegal gun racket had been operating undetected for roughly eight months before Eversley’s murder exposed the network. The investigation into Eversley’s killing and the broader gun trafficking ring remains ongoing, with law enforcement continuing to interview suspects and review municipal records to identify all involved parties.

On the eve of marking one full year in office, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has confirmed that no immediate Cabinet reshuffle is planned, while offering a candid assessment of her administration’s early progress – most notably a significant drop in national crime rates. The Prime Minister made the announcement Saturday following a sod-turning ceremony for the new Hilton Garden Inn development at South Park in San Fernando, where she fielded questions from reporters on two key topics: the widely speculated restructuring of ministerial portfolios and her government’s performance ahead of its first anniversary.

When asked about the possibility of reshuffling her Cabinet ahead of the milestone, Persad-Bissessar made her position clear: “There is no reshuffle on the cards at this time.”

Turning to reflection on her administration’s first 12 months in office, the Prime Minister struck a balanced tone, acknowledging meaningful progress while emphasizing that a large volume of work remains to fulfill campaign pledges to the public. “I think we’ve done a lot. There’s still so much to do…we have many promises to keep… and I’m not shirking from that. I’m looking forward to continue to work for the people of our country,” she said.

A full comprehensive breakdown of the government’s completed projects and policy achievements over the past year will be delivered by Persad-Bissessar this weekend at a national address hosted by the United National Congress at Couva South Hall. The Prime Minister used her earlier media interaction to highlight one key early win that formed the centerpiece of her party’s election campaign: falling crime statistics.

Persad-Bissessar noted she is encouraged by consistent downward trends in criminal activity, though she stopped short of declaring victory on the issue, stressing that ongoing work is critical. “Crime was something we campaigned heavily on, and we have some achievements, (but) as I say, much more to do. Murder is down by 42%. Serious crime is down by 30%,” she told reporters. “Crime is down from 600 to whatever it was at the end of last year. And again, this year, so far, from last year to now, that too is down. So, I am very happy about that, but I’m not overjoyed, because I think there’s still much more to do.”

She also clarified a key distinction in the government’s approach, explaining that the administration has implemented what she calls an “anti-crime plan”, rather than a generic crime plan – a deliberate framing that she said rejects the idea that the status quo works for criminals. “The crime plan is in the hands of the criminals, and the anti-crime plan, as I said, state of emergency (SoE) is one part of it. It is not the be all and end all of it,” she explained.

Beyond a state of emergency, the government’s multi-pronged anti-crime strategy includes embedding police officers in primary and secondary schools, expanding the total size of the national police service through new recruitment drives, and allocating additional patrol vehicles to frontline law enforcement teams to improve response times. When asked about the long-delayed reform of national firearms legislation, Persad-Bissessar confirmed that policy development is currently ongoing in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission. She added that she has ordered comparative research into regulatory frameworks used in other Commonwealth countries to identify evidence-based models that can be adapted for local use. “Yes, we will reform it,” she confirmed.