Port-of-Spain – Twenty-five thousand workers have lost their jobs since the PNM took office in September 2015, Couva South MP Rudy Indarsingh told the House of Representatives last week.
Speaking on his private motion asking the House to condemn the government for its failure to deal with unemployment, Indarsingh made a special plea for "traumatised" ArcelorMittal workers, many of whom are his constituents. He said one of the dismissed Arcelor Mittal workers came to his constituency office and broke down as he related how he was forced to sell his house to support his daughter, who is a medical student at UWI.
The MP said another informed him he had no word on his pension up to now since the company closed its doors last March, and that his daughter had been accepted at a university in Canada.
Indarsingh quoted a media report published in 2016 which stated the IMF was aware of the planned introduction of wage and hiring restraint.
"This government is being run by the IMF," said Indarsingh. He added a wage freeze and wage restraint was a known IMF prescription.
Indarsingh warned trade unions against getting into bed with the PNM. He said the PNM government and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had "duped" the electorate, and that PNM had a history of undermining the free and fair collective bargaining process.
The PNM had no vision or plan which would lead to an increase in employment, he declared.
Indarsingh said a Central Statistical Office release stated that 5,000 fewer people were employed between January and March 2016 than in the previous year, and unemployment increased from 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016.
He said economist Roger Hosein also estimated that real economic growth in the first quarter of 2016 was minus 5.4 percent and minus eight percent in the second quarter.
According to projections cited by Hosein, last year could have been the sharpest contraction in the Trinidad and Tobago economy since 1983, Indarsingh said.
Indarsingh said the PNM was used to offering zero percent to workers. He said when "new energy tsar" Gerry Brooks and the Petrotrin board and management first issued a memo to the staff in 2015, stating that it was freezing salaries, Prime Minister Keith Rowley had stated that this was a "sensible decision" given the challenging times.
The MP said while there was no documented wage freeze policy, the "DNA" of the PNM government, and the manner in which it related to the working class, suggested that a zero wage increase was an official government policy.

Port-of-Spain – Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy Selwyn Lashley has said after 100 years of commercial gas production, Trinidad and Tobago is painfully aware of the age of its infrastructure.
Given this fact, the country must be aware of the risk of accidents which could result in loss of life and damage to equipment and the sea.
He added that business continuity is another consideration and any disruption results in a lack of economic opportunity.
Given current global economic challenges, owners who have to deal with budget cuts may be tempted to delay or reduce maintenance of their infrastructure. Lashley made these comments in the feature address at the ‘National Facilities Integrity Audit and Beyond’ workshop held last week in Port-of-Spain.
The workshop was for the review of findings of the National Facilities Integrity Audit and present some of the general results, assumptions and conclusions of said audit which was conducted from July 2015 to April 2016, involving 30 companies in the oil and gas sector. The audit was commissioned following two significant oil spills in 2013 and 2014.
Graeme Pirie, Managing Director and Country Manager of DNV GL Trinidad and Tobago Limited, which conducted the audit, said there were a few companies which did not show willingness to improve. He added that many companies have a personal safety programme which is often not separate from the asset integrity programme.
He explained a confidential report on the programme had been prepared for the ministry, and each of the companies involved had been given a report on how they did in the audit.
He said these individual reports had information on the particular company and others in the sector but did not name the other companies.
Lashley said that instead of delaying maintenance, companies could work collaboratively through such industry-wide initiatives as the National Facilities Integrity Audit and share information among themselves.
He said that before the audit, a preliminary review within the ministry found varying degrees of asset integrity management levels; and that the AIM levels varied significantly from organisation to organisation.
Even within organisations there was a lack of thorough understanding of the AIM project in each organisation; a lack of proper risk ranking and prioritisation within each organisation to determine whether to repair or replace an asset. He said loss of containment can have catastrophic effects leading to potential user accidents with multiple fatalities as well as significant economic and environmental damage.
He said the ministry had seen some of the results of the AIM project and it was clear that Trinidad and Tobago still has some way to go to developing and implementing thoroughly effective asset integrity management programmes for all facilities and operatives within the oil and gas sector.
Lashley added the national vision for this country’s asset integrity management is for it to enhance an active and competitive centre for oil and gas exploration and production and petrochemical industry development, and see the country’s asset integrity management on the same level of such major oil and gas producers as the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia.

Port-of-Spain – Member of Parliament for Tabaquite, Dr Surujrattan Rambachan has recommended anger management classes and negotiation skills courses be introduced into the primary and secondary schools curriculum as a means of reducing school violence.
Rambachan was also in support of a statement by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that Trinidad and Tobago was a violent society, with too many illegal guns entering the country.
“It might very well be true since it appears that people are settling their problems through violence rather than negotiations. The recognition of the problem however is not enough,” he stated.
He added, “[It] has now become necessary to focus on why the society especially young people are so angry and begin to heal their minds of such anger by the introduction of new programmes in the school syllabus.”
Said Rambachan: “A school curriculum while it is generally intended to provide an education for a job and making a valuable contribution to society, must also be relevant to the situational context in which the society currently finds itself and also provide skills in personal and community problem resolution, negotiation and interpersonal relations.”
Additionally, “Not to start at this fundamental level of the child and teenager will be to export into the future a range of people emotions which will eventually explode into violence.”
Rambachan urged Education Minister Anthony Garcia to consider his suggestion and as well as other programmes which would expose children to human values.

Port-of-Spain – The Ministry of Health is banning the sale of sugar sweetened drinks at all government and government-assisted schools from April, 2017.
The move comes amid alarming statistics which point to a childhood obesity epidemic in Trinidad and Tobago.
The sweetened drinks to be banned include soft drinks, juice drinks, flavoured water, sports/energy drinks, tea and coffee and milk-based drinks with added sugars and artificial sweeteners.
Come April only water, 100 percent sweet juices, low-fat milk and blended vegetable or fruit drinks can be sold at schools.
"The rise in the prevalence of obesity is evident in the 2009 Evaluation of School Meals Options and Survey of Body Mass Indices, conducted by the then Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute which has been integrated into the Caribbean Public Health Agency.
"This evaluation revealed overweight and obesity in school-aged children five to 18 years old increased by 109 percent, from 11 per cent in 1999 to 23 percent in 2009," the Ministry of Health said last week.
Regarding obesity over the same ten-year period, the survey showed there was a 400 percent increase, from 2.5 percent to 12.5 percent.
"This high prevalence of childhood obesity leads to early onset of NCDs (non-communicable diseases) in general and to diabetes and hypertension in particular.
"This data reveals that Trinidad and Tobago has a childhood obesity epidemic that must be arrested immediately," the ministry said.
The ministry said it is collaborating with the Education Ministry on the issue.

Port-of-Spain – Trinidad and Tobago slipped four points on the Corruption Perceptions Index, from a score of 39 in 2015 to 35 in 2016, a downward move that has left the present government unfazed.
Responding to the latest report, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, said the slide occurred in 2014 and 2015, a period largely before his government took office.
“We must look very carefully at that period,” he said. Young added the index is a “perception”, and alludes to elements of subjectivity.
Saying the government of Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to transparency and accountability, he cited measures such as whistle-blower legislation, the Public Procurement Act, and certain right-to-audit provisions for bodies receiving public funds.
“This government has been working assiduously,” Young reassured.
The slide in the index was revealed last week during the launch of the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016. Trinidad and Tobago is now 101 compared to 72 in 2015. In 2013 and 2014, Trinidad and Tobago scored 38, and in 2012 the score was 39 on the CPI.
Calling for a change of attitude by citizens, and for good corporate governance in private companies and State enterprises, JMMB managing director and CEO Nigel Romano said this would essentially protect the interests of a company’s owners, shareholders, and was receptive to requests.
“Companies with poor corporate governance make decisions that adversely affect the interest of shareholders. Weak corporate governance structures don’t necessarily produce bad decision-making. They merely allow it,” Romano said.
He added that too often, management teams abuse their positions and become “secretive, dictatorial and greedy.”
Romano added: “They treat shareholder money like theirs. Good corporate governance procedures are designed to protect against this behaviour.”
He said at the national level it was important for political leadership to engage all stakeholders, including business, labour, professionals, academia, religious leaders and civil society, in a “very real conversation around solutions.”
Additionally, “When people clearly understand what is expected of them, political jockeying and favouritism are minimised and people can focus on rapid execution.”
The results of the index were disturbing, a former permanent secretary, Winston Rudder, said during a panel discussion. He noted there were enough laws to deal with corruption, and nationals of Trinidad and Tobago must not become complacent when it came to tackling this issue.
Saying that corruption in Trinidad and Tobago was somewhat “democratised,” Rudder said the gains of corruption were filtered throughout the society.
There must be a change in attitude on the part of citizens to fight this scourge, he said.
Also speaking at the event, Transparency International chair Jose Ugaz called for urgent deep-rooted systemic reforms that “even up.” Echoing these sentiments was Dion Abdool, chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency, who added the society needed to accept something was wrong.
Also last week, the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Steering Committee said it was joining the national community in expressing "deep concern" over the decline in the scores and ranking.
Analysis of Trinidad and Tobago’s rankings over the years shows from the results of surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, Trinidad and Tobago's score dropping from 39 to 35 with 100 (perceived to be very clean) and zero (perceived to be highly corrupt), with its ranking slipping from 72 of 168 countries in 2015 to 101 of 176 countries in 2016.
"Trinidad and Tobago's performance is embarrassing and worrisome for all citizens and highlights the need for structured and sustained reform," the EITI said.
Victor Hart, chair of the TTEITI Steering Committee and a member of the EITI International Board, said, "Trinidad and Tobago's drop in the CPI's scores and rankings sends a clear signal that, for the country's perception of corruption to improve and the reality of corruption to be reduced, we have to tackle corruption at its roots and promote a culture whereby sound governance and anti-corruption initiatives are established.”
He added, “One such initiative is the EITI that Trinidad and Tobago is implementing. It is proving to be a major disincentive to corruption and is a positive part of this reform drive as we ensure transparency in reporting on the revenues earned from the energy sector, still the most critical sector in our economy. The work we are doing to promote resource revenue transparency and to unveil the names of the real owners of companies investing in our oil and gas sector holds lessons for other sectors as well."
The EITI said its mandate was to collect and disseminate independently verified information on revenues earned by government from the oil, gas and mining companies operating in the country's extractive sectors.
To date, Trinidad and Tobago has published four EITI Reports, covering 2010 to 2015.
"Based on the reports' findings, an estimated (TT) $840 million in differences between extractive companies' declared tax and other payments and the government's corresponding receipts have been identified, audited and reconciled to our satisfaction," the EITI stated.
It noted: "The research that goes into the production of the EITI Reports has found no evidence of corruption at the level of upstream oil and gas companies, both local and foreign, in the dealings with government. That is not to say that there may not be some form of corruption in the energy sector. We are aware of allegations made of mismanagement and corruption in the award of contracts by companies to suppliers and contractors but that is not part of the EITI remit, therefore, we are not in a position to form an opinion on those allegations."

Port-of-Spain – The one cent coin is to be eliminated from this country’s currency, presumably later this year, following an announcement by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago that the one cent costs more to make than its actual monetary value.
The CBTT also plans to save money by changing the metal composition of the 5, 10 and 25 cent coins. No specific date was given for these changes but the bank did say “more details” would be provided “in the next few months”.
This would include, as stated by the CBTT, the “issue date of the new 5, 10 and 25 cent coins, details of coin redemption and donation drives, and publication of the cash price rounding rules.”
The decision to stop minting one cents is likely to be met with mixed reaction, as some nationals have long regarded the one cent as almost useless while others expect to receive proper change when their bill says they are owed $0.01.
In a published notice, the CBTT said “a single one cent coin currently costs 21 cents to mint and each year, the Bank mints on average 45 million one cent coin pieces.” Regarding changes to the metal composition of the three other coins in Trinidad and Tobago’s currency, the CBTT said they will have “a 90 percent steel core and less than ten percent nickel and copper overlay.”
It assured that “the new coins will look and feel the same as the current coins” but said that this change, combined with the elimination of the one cent coin are expected to save it “about TT $15 million in minting costs.”
President of the Supermarkets Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Yunus Ibrahim, said “without the one cent in the system, the pricing structure of all retail prices nationwide will be affected.”
He noted: “Prices are going to have to be rounded up or rounded down, based on where the actual price falls. However the consumer is not going to take kindly to this because (they) are going to be asked to pay, maybe one to three cents more per product, just because we don’t have the one cent anymore,” Ibrahim said.
He pointed out that while some restaurants in Trinidad and Tobago already round customers’ bills to the nearest dollar “for the purpose of ease of business, (many) consumers don’t like that.”
Citing the “logistic challenges” which elimination of the one cent would pose to retailers, especially when they have “funny prices” that must be multiplied by 12.5 percent VAT, Ibrahim said the CBTT “needs to have a fantastic media campaign to ensure people understand why this is happening.”
Asked if consumers would cut back further on what they spend, once the one cent is eliminated, Ibrahim said he did not think this would happen.
Over the long-term “the effect of this is going to be neutralised because as much as you could round up, you could round down”, he said.
He added: “So faith is going to have to be placed in the system but not having cents to give back people is a problem. That is to be discussed in the months to come, when the CBTT has their rollout plan.”
Meanwhile Gabriel Faria, CEO of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said he was not against the concept “in principle”. However, he needed more information before commenting in detail on the matter.
“I know that this has been done in other markets, (including) Canada, to reduce cost and to make things more efficient. I understand the rationale behind it, so I’m not against it (but) I’d like to get some more details about how they (CBTT) intend to redeem the currency (one cent) that’s in the market before commenting in detail,” Faria said.

Port-of-Spain – Education Minister Anthony Garcia said last week many students have a palate for “fried chicken” as opposed to locally grown food served daily by the National Schools Dietary Services Ltd.
Garcia said that getting students, some of whom are overweight, to switch from eating unhealthy to healthy meals had become a challenge.
The revelation came following the presentation of letters of appointment to NSDSL’s new chairman Joycelyn Bodden and members, Keisha Roberts, Samantha Felix and Martin Lum Kin.
Garcia spoke about the students’ eating habits, reducing the sugar levels in juices and wastage of meals provided by the NSDSL, which was being monitored.
Approximately 58,226 children receive daily breakfast meals, while 88,348 students are provided box lunches. The meals costing taxpayers (TT) $1.3 million daily are provided to children in need at the primary and secondary levels.
Garcia said that he would ensure that juices and meals handed to students would have a reduced sugar content since “excessive sugars” were the major causes of obesity and diabetes.
The Ministry of Health has advised the NSDSL to serve juices that are 100 percent.
CEO of NSDSL Stacy Barran, said implementing this new measure would cost the taxpayer much more. She was unable to give a projected figure.
“The sugar content… we are trying to reduce it to 17 grams which is internationally benchmarked,” Barran said. The juices the NSDSL serve has 27 grams.
Garcia said his ministry and the Ministry of Health will be indicating how they intend to treat with school cafeterias that sell soft drinks in schools.
“As the Ministry of Education we have a large measure of jurisdiction over what is sold at the schools’ cafeterias,” Garcia said.
Regarding students wasting box lunches, Garcia said the ministry has been having discussions with principals and teachers to ensure they are part of the programme.
“We are hoping that the level of unwanted food is small. Any wastage of food must be a major issue. This is why we are going on an all-out attack that our children develop proper eating habits and have a knowledge of the nutritional value of our local foods,” Garcia said.
“Secondly, I know that we have a challenge with respect to the taste patterns of our children. That many of them want to eat fried chicken. Sometimes when the local food is given to our students some of them don’t readily accept it.”
He appealed to students “to stay away somewhat” from eating fast foods.