School children were among angry commuters left stranded in Tobago after a bus drivers went on work-to-rule on March 4.
All arms of the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) in Tobago and Trinidad took the action after wage negotiations over retroactive payments stalled.
When the Guardian visited the PTSC terminal at Sangsters Hill, Scarborough, there were no buses on the compound, and the facility was locked.
Two primary school boys who were at the terminal explained that they missed school after waiting for a shuttle from 7:30 to 11 am.
Also among the inconvenienced passengers was Keith Oscar, 74, of Mason Hall, said he relies heavily on the public transportation system.
"They are supposed to sort out the problem. They shouldn't allow the situation to deteriorate, they are blaming the drivers, they are blaming everyone else I mean that is not good Tobago is too small a place to allow that to happen. I have been waiting for about half an hour, but there are times when I wait for two and three hours but today I would have to walk to my destination," Oscar said.
At PTSC Shaw Park, mechanics, electricians, service men and drivers were also on a "go slow."
Ted Taylor, Transport & Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) Branch President for Tobago said that their action was not a strike, but a work-to-rule.
"The workers are fed up with the promises made by the (Labour) Minister and (PTSC) management. We had a negotiation meeting yesterday but it failed because they are not willing to give the workers here a rate to live on, a package to live on. We cannot go in the grocery or buy a vehicle or live with ninety five cents as our COLA allowance. We have been promised a number of things here and to this date nothing has been fulfilled here," Taylor said.