August 13, 2026 — Mounting tensions between the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) and state sector entities are coming to a head tonight. CWU Secretary General Joanne Ogeer is demanding immediate clarity and government intervention over stalled wage negotiations at Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), alongside escalating job security anxieties facing more than 250 workers at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre.
Speaking at a media conference, Ogeer issued a strong rallying cry to the trade union movement to set aside political lines and defend workers facing mounting economic pressures and the risk of being placed on the breadline.
Hilton Job Security & Severance Calculations
Anxiety at the iconic Port of Spain hotel has spiked as the facility’s operating lease between Hilton International and the state-owned Evolving Technologies and Enterprise Development Company Ltd (eTecK) is set to expire on September 18.
- Severance Notices Issued: Despite government assurances in June that jobs would remain safe, Ogeer revealed that workers have already begun receiving severance calculation sheets from management.
- Absence of Successorship Clauses: The union raised alarms over the absence of a successorship clause in the collective agreement that would automatically transfer staff to eTecK or any incoming hotel operator, leaving workers with decades of service in legal limbo.
- Call for Ministerial Accountability: Ogeer called on the line minister to fulfill public commitments regarding worker protection and demanded transparency on state funds previously allocated for hotel infrastructural upgrades.
Stalled Wage Talks at TSTT
The union is simultaneously pushing for swift resolution on wage adjustments at TSTT. Following the settlement of collective bargaining agreements at Hilton last year, the CWU has focused its efforts on telecom workers, arguing that the company’s financial trajectory and operational demands warrant a fair wage increase rather than protracted delays.
Ogeer stressed that while cost of living continues to climb across the twin-island republic, frontline employees cannot be expected to endure open-ended uncertainty while state entities deliberate.
Reporter Jewel Greene-George has the full details on the union’s demands and the state’s response.
