Trinidad Power Workers Get Back Pay 15 Dec
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO · LABOUR
Key Facts
- The country Trinidad and Tobago is a two-island Caribbean republic whose economy runs on natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals.
- What happened On Monday 19 October 2026, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath told Parliament that active power utility workers will receive their outstanding overtime allowance from December.
- The money The bill is about TT$15 million (about US$2.2 million) and covers overtime worked from 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2025.
- The schedule Union members receive two instalments, on Tuesday 15 December 2026 and Friday 15 January 2027.
- Why it matters The state utility keeps the lights on for homes, hotels and factories, so a decade-old pay claim is being paid off at a key service.
- Still open Estate police officers at the utility are proposed to be paid on 15 January and 15 February 2027, pending approvals and signed agreements.
Trinidad’s state power workers will receive about TT$15 million (about US$2.2 million) in overdue overtime allowances, starting on Tuesday 15 December 2026. Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath announced the payout in Parliament on Monday 19 October, the Trinidad Guardian and CNC3 reported.
The money goes to staff of the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), the state company that supplies power across the Caribbean gas producer. For investors and visitors, it closes one source of labour friction at a service that homes, hotels and factories depend on.
What the Power Workers Will Receive
The payment to the power workers is a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) on overtime worked between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2025. Padarath put the total at about TT$15 million, or about US$2.2 million at 6.77 Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar on 21 October 2026.
Active power workers in the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), a major union that also represents T&TEC staff, will be paid in two instalments. The first payment falls on Tuesday 15 December 2026 and the second on Friday 15 January 2027.
Padarath spoke during the debate on the Appropriation (Financial Year 2027) Bill, 2026, the legislation that puts the national budget into law. He credited Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s government and said workers would be going home with more money after the first payment, the Trinidad Guardian reported.
Why the Dispute Lasted a Decade
A cost-of-living allowance is meant to keep wages in step with prices, and the power workers’ claim stretches from January 2015 to September 2025. In May Padarath blamed ten years of delay and neglect on the People’s National Movement (PNM), the party that now sits in opposition.
Agreements signed in late 2025 and mid-2026 already paid COLA on basic pay to active staff, and on basic pay and overtime to inactive staff. In November 2025 the government announced a TT$131 million (about US$19.4 million) COLA settlement for about 3,000 workers, Trinidad Newsday reported.
In May 2026 Padarath told the House that inactive OWTU members would get about TT$16 million (about US$2.4 million) in three equal payments. The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reported the statement on 2 May.
What the Union Says
OWTU First Vice-President Sati Gajadhar-Inniss said talks with T&TEC management were continuing, CNC3 reported. She said management had indicated the money should be paid before the end of the year.
She said the union awaits management’s reply on outstanding bargaining matters, and that talks have not yet caught up with 2026. Several bargaining periods remain unresolved.
The Industrial Court awarded no rises for 2015 to 2017 in February 2022, citing the commission’s finances. The Court of Appeal set that ruling aside in February 2025 and sent the case to a new panel.
Estate Police, Connections and Streetlights
Padarath said officers of the Estate Police Association, which represents police attached to T&TEC, are owed COLA on overtime. They are proposed to be paid on Friday 15 January 2027 and Monday 15 February 2027, subject to approvals and signed agreements.
Association president Deryck Richardson said in November 2025 that an earlier COLA dispute was resolved, the Trinidad Express reported. The minister also said the utility had cut its backlog of connection requests from about 5,000 to fewer than 300.
He added that the government plans to speed up the national streetlight programme over the coming year. Padarath said the upgrades should reach communities beyond central and south Trinidad.
What It Means for You
For US investors in Trinidad and Tobago debt or energy firms, the payout is small but settles one long-running grievance at the power company. The cost is about US$2.2 million, tiny next to a state budget measured in billions.
Visitors and Trinidadian families abroad should see little direct change, because the settlement concerns pay rather than tariffs or service. The wider fiscal picture, including the budget debate over recession, matters more for the economy than this payment to power workers.
Readers who want the wider setting can start with the Rio Times guides to Trinidad and Tobago’s geopolitics and to its role in Latin America. Both explain how gas, politics and the budget fit together.
What Is Not Known
The number of power workers who will receive the overtime allowance and the average amount per person have not been published. The TT$15 million is a ministerial estimate, so the final bill could differ.
Estate police payments still need approvals and signed agreements. Several OWTU bargaining periods, and wage talks for 2026, remain open.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which power workers are getting paid?
Overtime COLA goes to active power workers at T&TEC who are represented by the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union. Estate police officers at the utility are proposed to be paid separately, pending approvals.
How much is the payout in US dollars?
The minister put the cost at about TT$15 million, or about US$2.2 million at 6.77 TT dollars per US dollar on 21 October 2026. It is an estimate, not a final bill.
When will the money arrive?
The union’s two instalments are due on Tuesday 15 December 2026 and Friday 15 January 2027. Estate police officers are proposed to receive theirs on 15 January and 15 February 2027.
What is T&TEC?
The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission is the state-owned utility that supplies electricity to homes and businesses. It falls under the Ministry of Public Utilities, led by Barry Padarath.
Sources: CNC3 (T&TEC workers get outstanding COLA payments from Dec), 20 October 2026; Trinidad Guardian (T&TEC workers get outstanding COLA payments from Dec), 20 October 2026; CNC3 (T&TEC workers expect first COLA payment before Christmas), 20 October 2026; Trinidad and Tobago Guardian (Padarath: Govt has started paying overdue COLA), 2 May 2026; Trinidad Express (Estate Police resolve COLA), 24 November 2025; Trinidad and Tobago Newsday (Government settles TT$131m TTEC COLA dispute), 21 November 2025.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief