Employees to accept VSEP by Jan 15

The debt-ridden State-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) will sign off permanently early in the new year. Public Administration Minister Dr Lenny Saith announced yesterday that NBN would be no more and that a new 100 per cent State-owned entity called the Caribbean New Media Group Limited will take its place. CNMG will begin broadcasting in about six months time on Channels 2 and 13, as well as all NBN’s radio frequencies. The main casualty is this transition will be NBN’s 200-plus employees, who have been given until January 15 to accept an “enhanced” VSEP package. The “attractive” package which will be presented to them by December 31, will see them taking between 25 to 30 percent more than what is currently covered in the Severance Act.

The new entity will be run by the same Board with the addition of three directors, with expertise in business, finance and technology. And it will be based at the Maraval Road headquarters, currently used by TTT. This was the decision taken by Cabinet and announced by Saith at the post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall yesterday. Sources said Cabinet was divided as it deliberated the fate of the State-owned media house. Sources stated that some members of the Government, including Saith, Keith Rowley and Colm Imbert, argued for the divestment of station, while others, including Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Attorney General John Jeremie and Joan Yuille-Williams argued for continued State ownership of the new enterprise. Kenneth Valley supported divestment, but to the workers.

In defending Government’s decision to maintain 100 percent ownership of the new company, Saith said there was nothing inherent in Government ownership which said that the station could not be viable. Noting that NBN was once profitable, he said Government’s objective was to have an  entity which could start “with a clean slate,” unfettered in the hiring of staff and in putting in place the right programming, people and policies. Saith said BBC Technologies had prepared a business plan for CNMG. He said the staff of  TTT could apply to work at the new entity. Saith said Government never indicated to the private sector that it wanted to sell NBN.

He said a total of $71.5 million would be provided for the operations of the new company. Fifty million of that would be used for equipment, he said. The total cost of the severance package will be $32 million, Saith said. He said there was provision for employee assistance and financial counselling ($1.2 million); for the continuance of health benefits for one year ($1.6 million) and for retraining ($1.3 million). He said property at Abercromby Street (the old NBN building) will be refurbished and the building leased to the new company, while the property at Maraval Road will be transferred to the State. He said Channel 4 will continue on the air to enable any obligations NBN had in terms of Lotto to continue.