PSA president Watson Duke says public servants are demanding the payment of outstanding arrears by the new PNM Government.
He called a news conference to demand the workers be given their “pound of flesh with blood or we will take it with blood.”
The news conference was held yesterday at the PSA headquarters, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain.
Duke, who spoke in the presence of PSA members, said the Government had not as yet paid arrears to Regional Health Authority workers.
He said workers at the Civil Aviation Authority, National Insurance Board, Agriculture Development Bank and Nipdec were trying to understand why in 2016 they were working for 2010 salaries.
According to Duke: “The Government seems to have no interest in settling those matters.”
He said the Government instead imposed 12.5 per cent Value Added Tax on 7,000 zero-rated items.
Duke said public servants felt they were under attack and they would fight back. He said the salaries of politicians were never paid late but the workers were being told to hold on.
He said there was expected to be an 18 per cent increase in the price of goods and services.
“This will be a war, maybe a war against the corporate society,” Duke added.
He said it was only the corporate sector which was benefiting under the new PNM Government, adding that no labour union can claim to have received any benefits.
“We have not benefited at all but the business community has benefited,” he insisted.
Shouting at the news conference, Duke insisted: “It must stop now. Let us benefit now.”