PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – President Christine Kangaloo has named Heather Seale as the new President of the Industrial Court even as the trade union movement here urged her to reconsider the decision not to renew the contract of the outgoing President Deborah Thomas-Felix, which expires on Thursday.
In a statement, the Office of the President said that Seale was appointed the head of state and consulted with Chief Justice Ivor Archie, as required by the Industrial Relations Act.
Seale has held positions as an Industrial Court member, Tax Appeal Board registrar, and state counsel at the Ministry of Finance.
The Office of the President said that as a member of the Industrial Court, she “has served diligently and consistently contributed to the development of the industrial relations jurisprudence in Trinidad and Tobago by her honor’s many written judgments.”
The statement thanked Thomas-Felix for her service to the court for more than 11 years, adding that her “leadership over this period was instrumental in helping to build capacity at the Industrial Court, including building a pool of talented members from which it has been possible to select a new president.”
But, the President of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), Ancel Roget, who spoke to reporters after delivering a letter to the President on Tuesday, said that at an emergency meeting involving the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN), the unions had only been informed by sources that a decision had been taken “not to renew the contract of the sitting President of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago and that it was communicated to her two days before the expiration of her contract and two days before her removal.
“We found it to be highly irregular and disrespectful to the incumbent and the office itself,” he said, adding that Thomas-Felix is out of the country and due to return on Saturday.
“This speaks to not only bad industrial relations practice and seems to suggest that the custodian of good industrial-relations practice in the country, the President of the Industrial Court herself, has fallen victim to bad industrial relations and oppressive treatment meted out by the Trinidad and Tobago government.
“It represents a disrespect to the court itself and the officeholder, who would have taken the court to a higher level,” Roget said, noting that while the trade union movement might not always agree with Thomas-Felix’s decisions, it accepted them because she was very experienced and had international recognition.
Roget said there would be “dark days ahead for the already poor industrial relations” in the country, and the decision meant people would again lose confidence in the Industrial Court.
“We don’t think any other judge in the country or the tribunal can replace her. We cannot now identify any sitting judge in the courts or the government with that experience and stature.
“She brought a collaborative approach to the court that had different stakeholders listen and to a great extent comply in areas where they disagreed, but still respected her decision.”
He said consideration may not have been taken of several things, including Trinidad and Tobago’s industrial peace and stability, which would lead to increased productivity, which was desperately needed.”
NATUC general secretary Michael Annisette said the issue was whether or not the President of the Industrial Court, who has served for 11 years, should be reduced to “a telephone call two days before the expiry of a contract, advising that your contract is no longer valid after the expiry date.”
He called on the President and Chief Justice to publicly justify their decision, which he called a travesty of justice.
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