‘At a loss’

Patrick Tull is wondering when or if his chance to have his matter heard before the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT) will ever come.

The former emergency medical technician (EMT) at the Sparman Medical Clinic said he was keeping his fingers crossed that his case would be called soon since it has been four years since he filed a claim for wrongful dismissal.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Tull queried how more recent matters were being heard by the tribunal while he continued to wait in vain.

However, consultant to the ERT Winston Chase explained today that a check revealed Tull’s name was not among the list of matters to be heard by the Tribunal.

He explained that before any matter was sent to the ERT a reconciliation meeting first had to be convened by the Labour Office with the severed employees and the former employer.

Chase said it was only after agreement fails at this level that the matter would be transferred to the ERT.

Tull confirmed to Barbados TODAY he had not been called to any such meeting.

He however explained that he had initially been hired to work at the clinic in 2010, but had been made redundant in 2013. He said he was eventually hired back to work at the company that same year.

He explained that he had lodged his case with the Labour Office in 2015, and despite numerous phone calls and visits to the Government agency, he was still at a loss why it was taking so long to be processed.

He claimed his troubles began on April 1, 2015, when he was fired, allegedly at the request of someone external to the company.

He said the reason for his termination was explained in a letter from the hospital director Deron DeCaul.

Tull, who also used to drive the clinic’s ambulance, admitted to Barbados TODAY that he had been involved in two accidents – in December 2014 and March 2015.

However, he said he was subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing.

Tull explained that prior to him being fired he had not received any warning letters and had not been called into any meetings.

The day after being dismissed on April 2, 2015, he lodged his case with the Labour Office, he recalled.

The aggrieved former employee complained that even though he regularly visited the government office, he had received no information on when his case would be submitted.

“This is very frustrating because this is over four years that I was wrongfully dismissed and I still can’t get a hearing before the Employment Rights Tribunal. Yet, I can see all kinds of people who were fired after me going to the tribunal and their cases are being heard,” Tull lamented.

He said while he understood there had been a change in Government and a change in the tribunal’s personnel, that was still not a valid reason for his excessive wait.

“It is true that Government has changed and different people now make up the tribunal, but that doesn’t explain why I should be waiting four years. This wait is too long.”

Tull said what had made the situation even more frustrating was the fact that he had been unable to secure a job since being fired.

He told Barbados TODAY he had applied to work in Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Bermuda, but had been unsuccessful.

He said he hoped once his plight was made public that he would receive some assistance in having his concerns addressed.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb