The Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) is expected to meet again today with Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz and Junior Finance Minister Rudranath Indarsingh to discuss salary negotiations for Public Service Transport Corporation (PTSC) bus drivers. The meeting, which is carded for sometime today at the Radisson Hotel, Port-of-Spain, will seek to bring an end to work-to-rule action that drivers have been engaged in for the past nine days.
But if the meeting does not go in the union’s favour, a source inside TIWU told the T&T Guardian, more serious industrial action will be taken. “If we don’t get what we are asking for, we will not hesitate to shut the entire service down completely,” the spokesman said. “We will step up our actions and take more decisive action.”
The source said TIWU was now asking for a 15 per cent increase for bus drivers. Following a previous meeting, however, a union representative had said Cadiz had accepted the union’s 12 per cent increase and only had to seek the approval of Finance Minister Larry Howai to sign off on the agreement. The source said the current work-to-rule action would continue indefinitely until their salary demands were met. “Once it is approved, we will go back to work, because right now most of the buses are just parked up here and drivers are sitting here just waiting.”
The source also said trouble was brewing yesterday at South Quay bus terminal. “The Port-of-Spain engineering department is down, after management started spreading rumors causing falling outs between the workers. They want to see workers fighting among themselves.” Service to rural areas continued to be affected, yesterday, as the source said no buses worked any rural routes from San Fernando.
The service to and from the University of the West Indies (UWI) for students has also been shut down since the work-to-rule action began.