TSTT goes nimble

THE COUNTRY, we believe, is now looking forward to enjoying the benefits that liberalisation of the telecommunications sector must inevitably bring. For one thing, the Telecommunications Amendment Bill 2004 which was passed in Parliament recently will bring to an end the monopoly which Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has held for as long as we can remember. Judging from the many letters we have received over the years from customers complaining about their sorry experience with TSTT, we can safely assume that the change will be a popular one. The fact is, however, that in the age of globalisation monopolies are dinosaurs which will have either to adapt to the new environment or wither under the pressure from new competitors in the field. This is a fact that is not unique or exclusive to Trinidad and Tobago but applies to countries world wide where electronic communications and information technology are rapidly turning nations of the globe into a single marketplace.

This newspaper welcomes the change since, in our view, open competition and the possibilities of choice it provides can only serve to benefit members of the buying public. For many countries, however, globalisation can hardly be an unmixed blessing. Nations of the former Soviet bloc emerging from a history of centrally planned economies, for example, will feel the agony of change and restructuring most severely. How they will manage to reform their industrial bases with their obsolete and delapidated plants to meet the modern competitive challenge of globalisation is difficult to see. Fortunately for us, Trinidad and Tobago is not in that backward category but, in this new unifying age, it would be foolhardy for us to take our economic situation for granted.

While our resources provide us now with a great advantage, they are essentially wasting assets which must be used for a greater diversification of TT’s industrial sector, thus building a base for our long term viability. In the areas of telecommunications, the changes are inevitable and significant ones. TSTT, which became bloated over the years as a result of its solo and unchallenged operations, must now transform itself into a trim and efficient outfit, gearing itself to meet the competition of the open market which will surely come from some foreign giants in the field. To its credit, however, TSTT seems to be setting an excellent example of how such a transition should be conducted. The company announced on Tuesday that it has offered “attractive separation packages” to 700 of its workers in an effort to create “a more nimble, responsive and customer-caring organisation.” 

According to TSTT Executive Vice-President Oliver Flax, the company’s Enhanced Early Retirement Plan (EERP) and its Voluntary Separation Plan (VSP) are “the most generous plans the company has ever offered.” Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this separation package is the fact that it was worked out in conjunction with the Communications Workers Union and has met with a “totally positive” response from TSTT employees. In this regard, we hope that Mr Lyle Townsend and the CWU will recognise the inescapable impact of globalisation on the company and the adjustment it has to make if it is to continue to prosper in the new open environment. For our part, we hope the letters we will now be receiving from TSTT customers will be those extolling its caring virtues.