Where is the equity?

President of the Pensioners Association, Lyle Donawa, said members have been negotiating with Caroni for an increase in pension and got nothing out of it. “People who retired  in the 80’s are getting the same pension today,” he said. Three months ago, the staff associations, he said, had asked for 15 percent increase on salaries “so automatically this will jack up their pensions. The Pensioners Association have asked for a three percent increase in pension for each year of retirement. The active Staff Unions have however, recommended a 10 percent across the board to all retired pensioners. “This is not not equitable because people who retired a few years ago will get very  little out of the deal,” he said. By his calculations a person who retired on $6,000 a month will get an increase of $600 while a person who retired 20 years ago will get only $200 increase in pension. “The equitable thing would be to get the two percent for each year of service,” he said.

Some members of the staff who retired years ago were given an exgratia payment by the company to make up the pension, which was funded by the company. Since Caroni has been wound up, the exgratia payment is no longer available, he said. The Pensioners Association is asking that these payment come out of the pension fund but the Staff Unions are arguing that that money should not fund these payments. “It will mean that a lot of people will lose their exgratia element,” said Donawa. Donawa said pensioners are now even more concerned. Since Caroni was wound up, it means that pensioners are in limbo over who has the final say over the pension funds.