The Mass marked the official start of 40 days of the Lent. “We pray that they (leaders) would put themselves in communion of people so they will not be perceived as living a life of luxury but rather walking the talk.” Yesterday, all around the world Catholics and Anglicans began the first day of Lent, a period when Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. There was standing room only as hundreds packed into the church to be marked with ashes on their forehead.

Fr Sirju gave a few pointers on how to fast during this period urging patience during this time. He explained that fasting engenders discipline of the body mind and spirit but asked the congregation not to make a mockery of it. According to Sirju, when one denies themselves food, one can identify with the millions across the world who go hungry on a daily basis.

“You deliberately make yourself hungry so you may feel the hunger of others. Millions of people, many of them children, go without food on a regular basis, many of them on a daily basis. So you cannot fast and when somebody gives you a bad drive, you cuss that person. No! You can’t fast like that. Fasting must be in the service of the internal discipline.” Fr Sirju continued, “You cannot be fasting on one hand and then reaching 15 minutes or half an hour late for work everyday. That is a reckless fast.

If you are fasting, it is to engender a virtue and live a certain kind of life not so much in the church but in the world.” He said it is not right to fast only during Lent but it should be done at specific times throughout the year.

“If we begin the Lenten Season by thinking it is okay to pray, fast and give alms and not do it outside of Lent then we are misunderstanding our tradition. Our efforts must be intensified in this season of Lent.”

TCU supplies electrical power to just over 50 percent of the country. And it is leading the way in conserving natural gas supplies which is on the decline.

The plant’s low consumption of natural gas has allowed the resource, earmarked for electricity generation, to be redirected to other industrial facilities, including those at Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

This was revealed by TGU chairman, David D’andrade during a recent media tour of the sprawling facility at Union Industrial Estate, Vessigny, La Brea.

D’andrade said TGU not only saves the nation approximately 18 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, but the plant also possesses the capability to also burn alternative fuels to further reduce natural gas consumption.

“There are units that burn twice as much gas to produce a unit of electricity than we do, so it is beneficial for TTEC (Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission) to use the power from this plant than it is to use from others,” he said.

“The plant can burn alternative fuel, so if the government and TTEC and the shareholders agree that they want to use that gas and they want us to burn alternative fuels, then we make arrangements and we equip the plant to do it,” he added.

Trinidad Generation Unlimited is a 720 MegaWatt (MW) combined cycle power plant that is owned by Government and sells its electricity to TTEC.

The combined-cycle power plant has a high degree of operational flexibility in order to cover the fluctuating demand of the power grid, and with six gas turbines and two steam turbines it is able to operate in “open” (without steam turbines) or “combined” (with steam turbines) cycle. In order to fulfil the stringent environmental regulations within TT, an innovative, self-contained air cooling system was constructed which prevents any unnecessary sea water intakes.

At full output, the plant can generate 720 MW of electricity.

D’andrade explained the plant has met the annual 93 percent capacity of electricity, the availability required under the power purchase agreement with TTEC, and has been compliant with all its Certificate of Environmental Clearance, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

He said TGU has not only repaid its ultimate shareholder, the Government, all of the advances incurred as debt for the construction of the power facility totalling US$554 million through a series of short-term loan facilities, but has also paid dividends totalling approximately US$222 million.

He said the facility had been required to have its maintenance, operations and financial model reviewed by an international engineering company, Black and Veatch Management Consulting, which reported that “TGU’s equivalent availability factor has averaged approximately 94 percent from 2012 to 2015, which is higher than the industry average of 88 percent for power plants in the United States region.”

TGU has also received investment grade ratings of BBB as a “first time issuer” of bonds from Standard & Poors and BBB from Fitch for performance and its US$600 million Senior Unsecured 11- year notes (unsecured bond).

But central Trinidad doctor and past president of the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association (TTMA), Dr Rohit Dass, 49, chose a brick factory as his next area of investment.

He already owns a medical centre (Freeport Medical Centre); a health care distribution company (RD Global Marketing and Distribution); and a home for the aged (Wings of Care).

So how exactly does a doctor become a brick-maker? Business Day asked Dass during an interview at his office at Freeport Medical Centre.

“I always had this dream of making something unique,” Dass says, adding, “I mean you can always buy something and sell it back so we were thinking of so many different products when we did an analysis of what was happening in Trinidad in 2012, and we realised that the construction industry was doing extremely well, and hence the reason why we thought about manufacturing bricks.” His family considered several business options which included the manufacturing of garments or the importation of clothes to be sold on the retail market.

Dass continues: “We were thinking about diversifying, going into other areas of business, but we found that the clothing industry was already clustered and construction was doing very well so we are very excited about this project.” The project— RD Premium Bricks Limited— began in 2013 and is due to be completed and commissioned by April.

“This is a brick plant that is supposed to produce four-inch, six-inch, and eight-inch concrete bricks and it’s one of the newer machines. It’s known as a Colombia 1600 machine and is a fully automated machine and has a capacity of 30,000 blocks per 12- hour shift ,” he says.

The factory is located at Demerara Road, Arima on fi ve acres of land. Dass estimates here are three major block factories operating in Trinidad so the competi tion is “not very high.” He explains during the construction phase, the plant employs 43 workers and when operational will employ 36 administrative and technical full time staff members.

Asked about the project’s cost, Dass, who will hold the post of chief executive officer and general manager, laughs saying, “It’s a very costly project.” The blocks, he explains, will be sold directly to hardware stores, construction companies and the regional market.

Dass was born in Caparo and attended Presentation College, Chaguanas. He was one of the fi rst persons from his village to win a national scholarship in 1988. After working at San Fernando General Hospital, he entered into private practice at Freeport in 2000, as a single doctor’s office which mushroomed into Freeport Medical Centre in 2007.

“We had a nice smooth upward climb where we started off as a single doctor’s office, and now we are a one-stop shop where we provide all the basic services – X-ray, ultra sound, full lab services, drug testing, and minor surgery,” Dass says.

The centre also provides mammography testing for breast cancer, which Dass observes is “very common” in women.

Asked about the prevalence of medical clinics sprouting up around the country, he says this is due to the public perception that they are not receiving proper health care at public health institutions.

The Ministry of Health, he says, faces a “very challenging” situation regarding the delivery of health care, and notes the answer lay in a partnership between the public and private sectors.

His medical centre has already partnered with the Health Ministry to provide kidney dialysis treatment and is willing to expand the partnership to provide CT scan and stress testing services to the public.

Dass notes his investments, including the brick factory, represents his faith in the economy saying there are opportunities available to entrepreneurs who are willing to invest in the nation’s future.

Tobago on the other hand, continues to offer a more traditional “island holiday”. There has also been some emphasis on eco-tourism and that seems to be very successful. However, judging from the neglect of our historic buildings and sites, it is clear that we have overlooked the revenue stream that could flow from celebrating our historic patrimony.

The City of London earns an average of ?15 million per year and is probably the world’s best example of a city that generates substantial tourism revenue from the preservation and management of its historic buildings.

Closer to home there are numerous examples of economically sustainable tourism sites in the Caribbean – Devon Hall in Jamaica, Brimstone Hill in St Kitts, Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua and Sunbury Plantation House in Barbados.

The historic buildings and heritage sites of Trinidad and Tobago are the backdrop to our unique culture and there are tremendous rewards to be earned if we were to restore and maintain our historic sites and buildings and put them to adaptive re-use as museums and places of interest.

The combination of architectural designs and detailed craftsmanship make our historic buildings, from the “leepay” hut to Knowsley House, are nothing short of treasured works of art. By preserving them and acknowledging that they comprise our heritage assets, we ensure not only a glimpse into the past but set the tone for our future.

Unfortunately, the majority of these beautiful buildings and sites have been neglected through an ignorance of their importance as historical landmarks and the basis of our cultural identity. As a result, many have either been demolished or are in a terrible state of decay. It is indeed lamentable that as a people – from the ‘man on the street’ to officialdom – we lack this basic understanding of the great value of our heritage assets. This ignorance in turn means that we miss the opportunities to tap into their tremendous economic potential. It becomes a moot point whether the attendant neglect of our heritage has also contributed to the decline of our holistic values as a society.

In the last few years only, there have been some unfortunate events that penetrated public consciousness.

The levelling of the old Greyfriars church on Frederick Street and the home of the late dance icon Beryl McBurnie have left a bitter taste. Some hope has been rekindled with the promises from Government that restoration work on five historical buildings – President’s House, the Red House, Whitehall, Stollmeyer’s Castle and Mille Fleurs – will be given top priority over the next five years. Undoubtedly this will present some challenges in the face of falling government revenue, but if this is viewed as an investment rather than simple expenditure the task can be accomplished. In the meantime, however, there remains a singular lack of appreciation for the value of many old and unique structures; structures that represent the way of life of bygone eras.

It is imperative that as we mature as a society, we weave the threads of our past and future together to better appreciate the unique nature of Trinidad and Tobago.

The day commemorates the achievements of women worldwide and brings awareness to political and social struggles of women with the goal that things will change for the better in the future.

Over the past few decades, women around the world have made remarkable strides in entering the workforce and their wealth is rising. In the Caribbean, women are very influential in government as many have attained positions of power and high responsibility, with The Bahamas, Grenada and Saint Lucia all having female Heads of State at present.

But sadly, more than a decade of data has revealed that progress is still too slow for realising the full potential of women globally within our lifetimes. In the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Report 2016 which measures the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics, the data showed only two regions—Western Europe and North America—have a remaining gender gap of less than 30 percent, at 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe and Central Asia are virtually tied at a remaining gender gap of exactly 30 percent each.

The research shows the gaps between women and men on economic participation and political empowerment remain wide. According to the report, at the current rate of change, and given the widening economic gender gap since last year, it will not be closed for another 170 years. In the Caribbean, Barbados (28 percent) remains among the best-performing countries in the region and the world on closing the Economic Opportunity gender gap, achieving parity at the level of female legislators, senior officials and managers. It continues to take the top rank among the Caribbean nations, followed by the Bahamas (37 percent) and Trinidad and Tobago (44 percent), which share similar profiles. Notably, Jamaica and Barbados have reached gender parity in senior roles, with Jamaica (42 percent) continuing to improve on Political Empowerment with an increased share of women in parliament.

Many girls across the Caribbean and Latin America now have better access to education.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, access to secondary and tertiary education increased in 2015. In fact, for years, there’s been a steady 70-30 ratio in favour of women at the University of the West Indies, a public university system serving 18 Caribbean countries and territories.

Positively, of the 144 countries the research measured – more than 95 percent of the gap in educational attainment, an improvement of almost one full percentage point since last year and the highest value ever measured by the Index. Women with higher levels of education also show higher rates of economic participation. The progressive developments in learning and employment could act as drivers for improving gender diversity, as well as social mobility, in the Caribbean and around the world.

But despite this success, inequality is still present in many countries. Today’s organisations cannot afford to sit still on this issue and have a responsibility to do more to speed this up.

Strategically, it should be on their radars.

According to the EY women in industry 2016 report, future growth will increasingly come from women. By 2020, nearly a billion women will have the potential to enter the global economy for the first time.

Business and finance is an industry in desperate need for more gender equality.

There’s disproportionate number of leadership roles are currently being held by male employees around the world. But evidence is clear on how much businesses are losing out on this state of affairs. In 2016, the Peterson Institute for International Economics reported that 30 percent female representation on boards could add up to six percentage points to its net margin.

Talent management is a top priority for businesses, which must ensure that they have the right staff to carry out their business effectively. Achieving greater gender diversity in teams will not only improve firm’s talent pools but also help to future proof organisations.

Finance professionals are crucial to steering businesses towards successful futures. After all accounting is the backbone of the business financial world. Through contributing to discussions about economic growth, managing finances and promoting good financial management, they enable leadership teams successfully navigate businesses through tough times ahead and take advantage of circumstances Right now, ACCA has 480,000 students around the world studying hard to become professional accountants. Currently 54 percent of them are female, a percentage that is growing year-on-year.

These finance professionals will be a part of the growing number women in the workforce.

The strength of the qualification and their dedication to pursuing finance careers is not only a step in the right direction towards gender equality, but also a necessity in providing professional accountants the world needs.

ACCA was established in 1904 specifically to open up access to accountancy and that ethos has been spread to over 178 countries.

Although more women are joining the accountancy profession, there is more work to do if we are to turn a corner, but now could be the perfect time. ACCA and the accountancy profession itself, is certainly leading the way.

In celebration of International Women’s Day ACCA Caribbean will host a women’s’ conference on Wednesday, March 8 at the Hyatt Regency. The programme will include presentations and panel discussions intended to inspire solution oriented dialogue around the theme ‘Be Bold For Change’ and will feature presentations by Christine Sahadeo, ACCA member, senior lecturer/deputy dean at the University of the West Indies, Racquel Moses, ACCA portfolio head, Europe and Americas, Stacy-Ann Golding, ACCA member, partner, Audit, KPMG Trinidad and Tobago, Akosua Dardaine Edwards, author, speaker, entrepreneur and Carole Eleuthere- Jn Marie, ACCA member, interim CEO, First Citizens Bank, Barbados.

The reader’s question was “I am a First Secretary, and I have seen my principal (Ambassador) not address other diplomats by name, sometime resulting in an embarrassing scenario. How can I address this without being considered insubordinate?” This is a very realistic and wonderful question as I too, at times, find myself grappling to place names to faces. The scenario presented has the potential to create quite the embarrassing moment, particularly if you are in fact hosting an event – you will not be expected to remember all invitees, however, it certainly helps to ensure you are well prepared.

In my stint within the diplomatic community, as a Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on one or two occasions, I was required to represent the Minister of Foreign Affairs at an engagement if he could not make it. Many times, this would be a short notice request, and nevertheless required a significant level of preparation and readiness. I made it a note to ensure that each individual of rank that I met, I would (and should) greet by the appropriate name. How was this done? Here were a few techniques used then: Do you recall the movie The Devil wears Prada? The protagonist’s assistants were required to be at her side to remind her of the names she may have forgotten – this is not a far-fetched scenario. On the occasions I was asked to deputize for my senior, I ensured that I was accompanied by a senior assistant who would have been more acquainted with the diplomatic community, and as such, would be able to assist with the placement of names to faces if the need arose.

This support would be provided in the most discreet manner, leaving the principal (myself) appearing to be in complete control of his/her event – always remember, there is nothing as sweet as the sound of someone’s name to their own ears.

Another technique is repeating the person’s name when first meeting them. This will aid in the process of recall if your paths may cross again. It is simple, meet, greet, and repeat! When meeting someone, it is always helpful to make familiar connections to the person’s face and name, so if you should meet again, the ease of recall happens with ease. Essentially this means that a visual connection can be made with the face to the name, for example, if I met Shirley for the first time, and Shirley has a striking feature, I will use that visual notation for recall, ie striking feature/Shirley with the striking feature.

The use of alliterations sometimes aids in the process of recall. For example, Cool Chris, or Naughty Nicole.

One of the techniques shared with me at the European School of Protocol was to ensure to make little notations at the back of business cards collected, including where you may have met the person, the date, and the event. This really provides a good base as you may be attending a similar event with a similar guest list. It always helps to revisit your collection of call cards and briefly review your notes, as you will become perfectly prepared for your many interactions, and the likelihood exists that many of the persons with whom you may have previously interacted, would be at the same event, giving you a wonderful platform to re-introduce yourself, remember pertinent details of any previous interactions and appear completely prepared.

The Greeks risk running out of money in July. The impending predicament has that country facing repayments of more than €6 billion in July with grave doubts over whether it would be able to make these without help or restructuring of the debt. The country’s main creditors in Europe continue to demand harsh budget cuts as a condition for crucial loans. We need to put this in the context of Eurozone countries most likely missing a self-imposed deadline due next Monday to agree on aid measures for Greece. In addition, we need to remember that it has now been ten years of failed efforts to “save” Greece. Perhaps Germany, the other European nations, and the International Monetary Fund, should use a different strategy that gives prominence to reviving the economy as a major priority.

It is noteworthy Greece’s creditors seem desirous to provide new loans to pay off debts due this year.

The condition set, however, is the country must commit to attaining a fiscal surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) prior to interest payments in 2018. The IMF, on the other hand, suggested a budgetary surplus of 1.5 percent and that Europe should pledge to decrease the Greek government’s debt, which is about 180 percent of GDP. Interestingly it is also suggested that consideration be given for debt relief to take the form of providing the country with more time to repay.

The Greek annual growth is 0.4 percent. Mandating that the country should run big budget surpluses would be counterproductive. That the European countries think that Greece can achieve these large budget surpluses makes one wonder about the basis for such optimism.

European, IMF and Greek officials must suggest ways to revive the Greek economy, reduce unemployment (23 percent in November) and make the financial system stronger: borrowers of nearly half of all loans are not making payments.

The EU may perhaps consider offering grants and loans for projects that improve the economy.

In addition, the government can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its tax collection agency. It is only when a recovery takes hold will the government have money to pay back its debts.

European countries by now should be aware that their analysis has been faulty. The strategy they have insisted on that included cuts in spending and raising taxes, has not revived the Greek economy, and makes Greece dependant on their financial support.

Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we need to think long and hard before increasing the debt to GDP ratio, especially as the energy sector appears in terminal decline. We need to see that borrowers are not interested in anything else except getting their money back. High debt levels mean spending most of your GDP servicing debt. Investment and stimulation of the growth potential can only occur when a country has the resources or can access resources. High debt levels seriously inhibit investment and curtail the fiscal space thus reducing expenditure on vital services like health and education. Borrowing for recurrent expenditure on the hope that a sector in terminal decline will recover is, in polite terms, madness.

There has to be serious dialogue with the country about our future – let us not forget and at the very least, learn from Greece.

At the risk of sounding clich?, the Internet is one of the most important and affordable tools you can employ in your small business. It helps you find just about anything. More importantly it helps just about anyone find your business. It is no longer something that’s nice to have if you have time. It is something you must make the time to have. Trust this, your business is going to love you for it. If you think you are not tech savvy, fortunately there is also lots of help for that online as well. Here are 5 tips to help you. This is not exhaustive and it is strongly recommended you do your homework with some independent online research of your own.

Do the website thing

Start a website and a social media account or two that lead people back to your website. wix. com is one of many popular options. You can take a look at some of the top recommended sites for simple but creative ways to easily build your website here http://bit.ly/2h3vWoD and checkout the video from WordPress at this link http://bit. ly/2lUtQ9D . A website and social media accounts are like the dream customer greeters that don’t take vacation, sick days, coffee breaks…you get the point? You get to infuse it with everything special and customer-loving about your business and tell people about it round-the-clock.

Make the website mobile friendly

Make your website mobile friendly. It only sounds difficult. Google has a helpful Mobile Playbook that breaks this down for you (http:// bit.ly/2lUCfdk). More than half of the billions of people on the Internet are doing so from a mobile phone. Phones and apps are getting smarter and smarter and a great mobile browsing experience is a big win with customers. In fact, 40% of customers that have a bad mobile browsing experience shop elsewhere. A mobile friendly website ensures that more people can find your business and helps make that first impression a great impression. You’re not alone if you are nervous about doing this for the first time and the Internet is loaded with helpful advice on how to get started like Hootsuite’s 9 tips at this link – http://bit.ly/1PX8kuB

Do the online payment thing

Outfit your website for online payment and delivery. Search Engine Journal has some suggestions on the 10 most popular online payment solutions – http://bit.ly/2hj0te9 . Nothing satisfies the consumer in us like immediate (or almost immediate) gratification. Pay for something and get it now. The other upside to this is if for any reason you must physically relocate your operations, business does not have to stop. Buying and selling can happen around the clock.

Continuously search for better suppliers

Use the Internet to research and build a listing of alternative suppliers. Open yourself to more options on where you can buy raw materials. This gives you more bargaining power for getting better costs for raw materials. You can also research the best quality available from a wider pool of suppliers. In an article “How to find and work with suppliers” –you can read it at http://bit.ly/2lnbTyT – there are simple but important insights on building and managing your network of suppliers so that your business performs better.

Find your flock and learn from them

Use the Internet to research what others in your industry are doing in other parts of the world.
You can checkout Google Communities at http://bit.ly/1BbBFa8 for starters. This is a great way to find innovative ideas to keep your products and operations interesting for your customers.
It is also a great way to network and build relations among like-minded individuals and organisations.

Certainly, questions about the ability of Carnival to be run as a profitable venture has been raised. What studies have been conducted on this national festival? What detailed analysis has been undertaken about the growth and development of the festival? Have any business models been developed? What is the participation rate in Carnival? Who is the target audience? Is it a cultural expedition or a source of revenue?

We have seen a marked fall-out in Carnival-related activities in many of our towns during Carnival Monday and Tuesday. This begs the question about the benefits of the expenditure made. Have we already or are we allowing this national festival to die?

When we talk about the Carnival sector we are really referring to undertakings that produce significant economic value, in the form of national output, employment and trade. At the heart of the Carnival sector there exists six main industry categories:

(i) steelpan;

(ii) Carnival music;

(iii) all mas (parade and street);

(iv) Carnival fetes;

(v) associated businesses; and

(vi) dedicated public administration services provided by the National Carnival Commission (NCC), including the research of the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago (CITT). There is also a grouping of activities such as restaurants and food distribution, new media, radio; television, advertising, transport services, and telecommunications which the core Carnival industry spawns as externalities.

Writers such as Dr Vanus James have conducted very detailed studies on Carnival. Admittedly, the government’s cut of subventions appears rather parochial in not taking into consideration the potential of Carnival. This is syllogistic to Greece where the economy is expected to grow from cuts in expenditure. It just does not happen.

James points out that we presently monetize Carnival through three main avenues: domestic demand, tourism inflows, and carnivals established in the global community. Interestingly government has limited its role just to demand for infrequent performance at cultural events such as the annual Carnival shows. There is no year-round stimulus and no stimulus at all to other activities in the industry, such as the evolving education services that the private sector supplies.

In addition, he noted that much of the demand is still from the Caribbean diaspora. There is some limited advertising of Carnival, but no activity of the type or scale needed for a trade promotion initiative.

The potential of the internationalization of Carnival through the export of services is untapped. There are 180 carnivals propagated around the world by the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival and associated carnivals in the Caribbean. The opportunities for the enlargement of the industry and for trade creation outside the national shores needs a national plan and investment to exploit. There has to be a systematic effort to establish links to and influence on the direction of development of the foreign carnivals through programmes developed with the domestic investment community.

There are so many issues that must be addressed with our Carnival before a short-sighted act such as cuts were implemented. If we are to be serious about Carnival and maximizing its potential we need to create a national institution dedicated to assist in the technical development of Carnival such as exists for agriculture (ADB), tourism (TDC), manufacturing and other industries.

It is important that we all acknowledge that there is a fundamental link between relevant data availability and policy formation. The former feeds the latter. There has to be a framework for collection and interpretation of the data on Carnival. The Central Statistical Office to date does not appear to have established any significant capacity to construct the satellite accounts of the Carnival sector, such as the country now does for the energy satellite group. If there is no measurement of the activities needed for sound policy design, then there will be limited or no understanding of what is taking place in the sector. We need, on a continuous basis, to be able to measure its contribution to GNP, employment, and trade.

James has reported about the contribution of the copyright sector, a significant share of which is accounted for by Carnival-related activities. He estimates that copyright accounted for nearly five percent of GDP in 2011, which is more than TT$4 billion. Many of the major copyright-yielding undertakings are properly embedded in Carnival. Among these are Carnival music and mas, and Carnival-related advertising and media, including new media.

Perhaps we need to properly plan the development of the Carnival sector, promote its growth with the requisite incentives, properly market its products, measure the activities and ensure the sector’s contribution to GDP is actually growing before we think of cutting Government’s involvement.

The ECA recognises that in times of economic uncertainty employers need to effectively manage the use of resources and, in particular, the most important resource, the human resource.

To ensure that the organisations remain efficient and competitive in these times, the employer needs to be innovative in presenting ways to keep the workers engaged.

Attendance does not equate engagement or productivity.

However, by attending work regularly and making a solid contribution, the employees can add value to the bottom line and help the organisation to achieve its overall organisational goals.

The Industrial Relations Act Chapter 88:01, informs all workers in Trinidad and Tobago are allowed to take at least two days’ sick leave without any supporting medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner. Employees are infamously known to often take advantage of this and abuse the system by strategically absenting themselves from the workplace to extend long weekends or simply to have additional time to conduct personal business.

Additionally, the Minimum Wages Order enshrines the right to vacation leave and sick leave but unfortunately, these rights are not always used in the most responsible manner. Supervisors have the responsibility of tracking the employee’s absences to notice any trends in their attendance and speak to the employee regarding the observation. As management, the Supervisor should also highlight it to the Human Resource Department to ensure that it is documented.

Documentation is key when executing progressive discipline.

Each organisation should have an absenteeism policy which clearly sets forth the criteria for absences which are allowed, and what behaviour will subject the employee to discipline.

A predetermined plan should be available to execute if and when the time comes that you must take steps to address excessive absenteeism.

Employees should be aware of that plan and it should be communicated via staff meetings, workshops and even on the company’s notice boards. Once the supervisor along with the HR personnel believe that the employee has legitimate reasons for their absences, the organisation should consider other options for employees such as flexitime programs and even counselling if necessary.

In summary, a strong communication effort to improve everyone’s understanding of roles and expectations should be present.

A mechanism to track absences and gather valuable data, and consistently applied processes will collectively go a long way in reducing instances of absenteeism and lost productivity.

Even with the implementation of company policies, and especially in Trinidad and Tobago, we are subjected to the dominance of practice over policy. Thus, it is important that the employer make sure to train all supervisors and managers to ensure that the policy is being fairly applied.

The information presented here is intended as reference only. In this regard, the Employers Consultative Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the Employers Solution Centre do not represent the information herein to be definitive or all-inclusive