PUBLIC Service Association (PSA) president Felisha Thomas has thrown her support behind the United National Congress (UNC) as she claimed workers cannot survive five more years under the current People's National Movement (PNM) government.
Thomas made a shocking appearance on stage at a UNC campaign meeting at Northeastern College in Sangre Grande, on March 29, where she emphasised the struggles of workers.
She believes under the PNM, workers have been mistreated and there have been widespread job losses, wage stagnation and the government has failed to address workers' rights and benefits.
“I am honoured to mount this platform in the interest of workers, to openly advance the only reasonable response to an unreasonable government which has used and abused workers – workers, demonised, criticised, lied on and falsely accused them,”
According to the PSA website, the union represents over 80,000 workers from more than 100 public service sectors nationwide.
Thomas said her primary goal after becoming PSA president on March 11 was to remove the government from office.
“Workers in this country must be free from dictatorship, oppression and tyranny – they must be free from the PNM.”
She said the government has done nothing to advance the welfare of working-class citizens and people are struggling to take care of their families.
“The PNM has starved workers of the resources they need to do their jobs. For the PNM, inefficiency means job loss. Anywhere you hear the word 'retrenchment', you’ll find the PNM right behind it.”
She said there have been significant job losses across various sectors. In 2003, she said approximately 9,000 workers from Caroni were laid off. In 2006, 1,800 employees from British West Indian Airways (BWIA) lost their jobs.
Thomas said the Tourism Development Company in 2017 had 111 workers retrenched and in 2016, 644 employees from Ansa McAl were let go. She added 500 workers in 2018 from Telecommunication Services of TT lost their jobs. That same year, another retrenchment at Petrotrin saw 5,500 workers facing job losses as part of restructuring efforts.
She said the education sector wasn't spared either, as 200 workers from the University of Trinidad and Tobago were retrenched in 2019 and in 2022, an additional 468 workers were let go.
“These are just a few examples. They say they love you, yet this is how they take care of you.”
She also criticised the government's handling of wages, pointing out a four per cent salary increase over six years while she claimed food inflation hit 64 per cent, but said government officials received a 47 per cent increase.
Thomas said failure to consolidate the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) led to workers losing $51.3 million in back pay.
Thomas further accused the government of threatening over 2,100 jobs in the Board of Inland Revenue Customs and Excise Division, as well as an additional 5,000 jobs in the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA).
“They've threatened over 500 jobs in the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and refused
