Teachers settle with CPO

THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) yesterday reached an agreement with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), after seven months of negotiations. The agreement covers the period October 2002 to September 2005.  The settlement involves: A one percent increase on the Consolidated Salary (Basic plus Old COLA) for the first year (Oct 2002 - Sept 2003); An additional two percent increase for the next 15 months (Oct 2003 - Dec 2004);

Target salaries based on the External Labour Market (ELM) survey ie - full market salaries for the bulk of teachers in Grades 3 and 4 between 86 and 98 percent of the market salaries for teachers in other grades, for the next nine months (Jan 2005 - Sept 2005); A new Fixed COLA of $65 per month over the three-year agreement. The settlement amounts by the end of the three-year period to overall percentage increases for teachers across the grades of between ten and 30 percent on their previous monthly salaries. In a statement last night, TTUTA said it believes that the settlement goes some way towards remunerating teachers in a manner consistent with their central role in education and the development of the country.

The union met earlier this week with the General Council to get its approval on certain areas of the agreement before giving the nod to the CPO yesterday. A formal signing ceremony will be held shortly. TTUTA had deemed the initial offer by the CPO as a “no salary increase for the first year, a minimal increase of three percent for the next 15 months to December 2004, and full market salaries for Grades 3 and 4 only, from January 2005 for the last nine months of the agreement.” TTUTA rejected that offer. The settlement comes a day after a successful meeting with the Ministry of Education, which agreed to pay arrears of increments owed to some 600 teachers for the period 1987 to 1995 by the end of September. Some 365 teachers are expected to receive those arrears by the end of next month.