Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Leroy Baptiste, says Trinidad and Tobago was misled into believing that labour reform was a priority under the former administration.
The Minister made the statement as he piloted the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Senate on Friday.
“We were fooled into believing that labour legislation reform was a key priority of the PNM administration.”
The Retrenchment and Severance Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aims to modernise laws governing worker redundancy, strengthen employee protections, and update outdated terminology to better reflect today’s labour environment.
The Labour Minister noted that many of the country’s labour laws have remained unchanged since 1985 and said that, under the current UNC administration, further delays will not be tolerated.
“Our administration entered office with a clear mandate to modernise labour legislation. And within 12 months, not 10 years, we have achieved consensus, drafted a Bill, and laid it before the Parliament. Promise made, promise kept.”
The Minister said the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to close loopholes in the existing framework that leave workers vulnerable.
“Particularly those who have faced displacement through corporate restructuring, insolvency, receivership, and financial collapse, often without meaningful severance protection or timely legal recourse.”
Independent Senator Courtney Mc Nish commended Minister Baptiste for taking the initiative to update labour legislation after more than four decades.
“I have repeatedly called for the updating of our labour legislation, as most statutes not only impact labour directly but our wider society, going straight to the root of social justice issues.”
During debate, Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, Dr. Kennedy Swaratsingh, defended Government’s decision to close the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), rejecting claims that workers were terminated.
“There’s a big difference between contract of employment and employing contractors, as in the case of CEPEP. When they continuously say that thousands of people were terminated, what this Government did was terminate corrupt contracts in CEPEP.”