TSTT finds ‘war’ story reckless

THE EDITOR: Not having been afforded the opportunity before hand to give TSTT’s response to claims made by the Communications Workers’ Union in an article headlined “War brewing between CWU, TSTT” which appeared in your newspaper on Tuesday November 16. I am constrained to write to you to state categorically that TSTT views as reckless, the CWU’s assertion that there is a war ongoing “against employees and the union of the company.” Nothing could be further from the truth. To be quite clear, TSTT has been and remains willing to have dialogue with the CWU on any matter that may affect the employees of the company. As the management of TSTT, we take our role seriously and have been working on promoting a more collaborative relationship between the company and the CWU.

At the same time, we have the responsibility to manage the organisation and we must do this as diligent, prudent and humane a manner as possible. In that vein we can categorically state without fear of contradiction, that all of the dismissals and suspensions referred to by the CWU were dealt with in accordance with good industrial relations practices and the CWU have been given ample opportunity to be a part of that process. It must be remembered that as a management, one of our key responsibilities is to ensure that TSTT provides the best service to customers at the most competitive price. TSTT must therefore continuously take stock of its operating environment and transform to be in line with the customers’ needs and industry benchmark. On that note, a number of studies have indicated that our staff complement is too high.

Against that background, the Voluntary Separation Plan and Enhanced Early Retirement Plan (VSP/ EERP) were introduced approximately six weeks ago. As far as we are aware, these plans are among the best that have ever been offered in Trinidad and Tobago and employees have been very positive in their feedback about them. In fact, since the VSP/EERP were announced, over 700 employees have shown interest in applying to voluntarily separate from TSTT. The management of TSTT wishes to assure the public that every necessary step will be taken to ensure there is uninterrupted service to customers. We will continue to work with the CWU and at the same time act in the best interest of all stakeholders to ensure that TSTT continues to survive and thrive in the rapidly changing telecoms market.

OLIVER FLAX
Executive Vice President
Organisation Effectiveness TSTT