Labour must be more productive

In such light, regardless of how much one condemns the present or past political administration, unless there are tangible realistic plans to transform our economy, we will run out of savings and be forced to dramatically curb our present spending patterns.

We have grown accustomed to collecting billions of dollars in taxes from the energy sector. That source of funds is now reduced due to a decline in prices and reduced supplies of oil and gas.

Another very important factor to consider is the fact that there is no one product available now that can generate income on the levels that we have grown accustomed to. Consequently, there is an immediate need for non-popular cuts in spending and a restructuring of our economy. If that exercise is done in the manner suggested by myself and many other visionaries in TT , the transition can be seamless, productive, prosperous and lead to long-term economic stability and growth.

Alternatively, if we continue as we are, there will be a gradual decline in our quality of life and eventually a dramatic drop in our income that can lead to uncontrollable levels of civil disruptions.

Recently, I had the experience where, after waiting two years for a water reconnection, WASA turned up with a crew of ten men, a backhoe and two trucks to complete the job. They worked from about 6 pm to 10 pm. When they left, the roadway remained in a state of disrepair until the people in the community had the roadway repaired.

Why do such work at night when the cost is increased due to overtime charges? Such levels of inefficiency, however, is the norm in our society.

I saw recently as well, more than ten men and two trucks supported by a pick-up truck with supervisory personnel from T&TEC working on repairing a street light that was damaged by a tall truck in Diamond Vale, Diego Martin.

The unions will insist that everyone on the crew is required and will not compromise on the changes required for such simple tasks. The driver, for example, is critical and unlike other developed countries where drivers are technicians, in TT drivers must drive only.

Then there is the supervisor who must just sit and watch, there must be the safety guy to look on as well and the other trades are all broken down to ensure that everyone has something to do.

At the water connection, for example, there was a man to cut the roadway, a woman to measure and cut the pipe, two guys to connect the pipe, two people to dig the roadway assisted by the backhoe and others whose job descriptions I was unable to contemplate. If TT is to be transformed we must restructure how we use our human resources, our savings and our natural resources.

Our new economic package must see the end of $60-billion budgets as $40-billion packages become the norm. There must be the realisation that the State cannot continue to support the levels of grants and subsidies that were available in the time of plenty.

Long-term infrastructure improvements and investments must be done in conjunction with the unions and private sector. Most important, however, must be the reality that we must all work hard together as we can no longer support a culture of paying for the inefficient use of labour.

Steve Alvarez via email