Caption: TTUTA President Crystal Asche, centre, and his executive leave the Ministry of Finance, Eric Williams Financial Complex, Port of Spain, after delivering a letter to Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo
Summary
- TTUTA president Crystal Asche said teachers feel “disrespected” as the union demands a clear timeline for salary adjustments and back pay.
- For the second week, TTUTA hand-delivered a letter to Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo seeking implementation of a 4% increase (agreed April 2025) and payment of estimated $730 million in arrears.
- Asche said the union will keep writing until it receives a response, while noting industrial action is unlikely during the state of emergency; Tancoo said he was abroad and had not seen the second letter.
By Alicia Chamely
TEACHERS are feeling disrespected, Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Crystal Asche said, as the union again called on Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo to provide a timeline for when back pay and salary adjustments would be implemented.
For the second Tuesday in a row, TTUTA executives gathered at the Ministry of Finance offices at the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port of Spain to hand-deliver a letter requesting a timeline for the four percent salary increase for the period 2020–2022, agreed in April 2025, to be applied.
They also sought clarity on when outstanding back pay, estimated at $730 million, would be paid.
Speaking to the media after delivering the letter, Asche said: “TTUTA would have just delivered a second piece of correspondence to the Minister of Finance. We came last week, we delivered one.”
Tancoo had indicated he received the first letter and said the ministry would respond in “due course.”
With no response received, Asche said TTUTA decided to deliver a second letter and would continue to do so until it got a reply.
Asked whether TTUTA would consider industrial action, Asche said: “As you know, today marks the beginning of a state of emergency in our country, and we would want to ensure that our membership is safe. We would never encourage them to run afoul of the law.”
“Just continue to write, continue to speak, continue to ask for communication, for dialogue. That’s all we are asking for,” she added.
Asked what feedback she had received from teachers, Asche said: “Very sad, very disgruntled, very disappointed, feeling disrespected. That is why we are wearing black today. We are not staying away from school or anything; we are showing our solidarity.”
AZP News reached out to Tancoo, who said he was out of the country and “unable to comment any further,” adding that he had not seen the second letter delivered by TTUTA.
