NBN’s Carnival coverage in jeopardy

THE breakdown in negotiations and staff “sick outs” at the National Broadcasting Network (NBN) could jeopardise Carnival coverage, for which the network has exclusive broadcast rights. On Wednesday, negotiations between management and the unions representing employees, the Electronic Media Union of Trinidad and Tobago (EMUTT) and the Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers (UCIW) broke down. The reason given was that management has refused to respond to the proposals put forward by the unions. EMUTT’s Anthony Garcia told Newsday yesterday “things were in the hands of management.”  He however refused to disclose what proposals the unions have put on the bargaining table to counter those offered by management.
The next meeting between the two parties is scheduled for next Wednesday. The unions are demanding the presence at that meeting of either Prime Minister Patrick Manning or the minister responsible for NBN, Information Minister, Dr Lenny Saith. They say they want answers since the present team negotiating on behalf of management and a representative from the Chief Personnel Office (CPO) are not giving them answers. Management has already pushed back the date of sending out VSEP applications to March 1. Those applications were supposed to have been issued yesterday, with an acceptance deadline of March 12. A new deadline for acceptance has not been given. Over the last few days employees have embarked on “sick out” action and sources say that action could jeopardise Carnival coverage. The employees action has already resulted in senior personnel trying to pick up the slack.  NBN is expected to close its doors on April 30, when a new company will be formed. The $33 million Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) put forward by management, has been deemed as a “retrenchment package” by employees. As a result, the employees showed their dissatisfaction last month by protesting in front of Whitehall. They were advised then to put forward their own proposals.

Newsday was told that request was done, but when the unions met with management on Wednesday, management were not in favour of the unions proposals and did not offer any suggestions of its own, which indicated they were sticking to their original proposals. That is, the VSEP will be inclusive of severance payments based on existing collective agreements and an enhancement over and above the separation at an average of 25 percent, with the level varying according to the age of each individual. A further five percent on the total enhancement payment will also be given as consideration of the new union agreements which are not yet finalised. In addition, a cash payment will be made for vacation leave accrued up to the date of separation, and pension plans will remain intact, with a Government guarantee that all plans are fully paid up at the time of the closure. Persons 60 years and over may opt for early retirement pensions with full benefits. There is also to be  career, financial and change management counseling for up to one year, and employees will be given the opportunity to participate in any retraining programmes they may wish to register for. Efforts to contact acting chief executive officer of  NBN, Dominic Beaubrun, was futile. He was said to be in meetings.