Unfair dismissal cases could be dumped

Some 13 employees are in danger of having their unfair dismissal claims thrown out by the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT).

Chairman of the tribunal retired Court of Appeal Justice Christopher Blackman told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that the claims, all of which relate to 2014, would be deemed abandoned, unless the claimants file with the ERT, the documents which had been requested of them by 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

In addition to what he posted in a public notice entitled Employment Rights Tribunal Abandoned Claims, Justice Blackman said he had written to the claimants over and over again.

“They will be deemed abandoned if the people don’t file something. It is very quick for people to talk about we have backlogs…but people come and drop paper then don’t come back and do anything,” he declared.

“They took no action and we wrote them upteen times,” Justice Blackman added.

The tribunal chairman revealed that he will publish another notice for 2015 after the tribunal panel is re-appointed in mid-August.

In this first notice, the retired High Court Judge told the claimants if they intended to file the requested documents, they must deliver a copy of each one to the respondent employers.

“If you fail to comply with this notice, your case will be dismissed for having refused to give evidence,” he warned.

Among the cases listed on the “abandoned claims” notice is one in which Opposition legislator and head of the Unity Trade Union Senator Caswell Franklyn was representing an employee of the Crane Residential Resort and Residences.

When contacted Monday night, Senator Franklyn explained that the matter was not pursued because the employee had been rehired.  “So there was nothing to pursue,” he told Barbados TODAY.

The other cases involve employees from the Nation Publishing Company, Island Inn Hotel, Arthur Construction Inc, Jose y Jose Liquid and Solid Waste Management, PriceMart Inc., and Standard Distribution and Sales (Barbados) Limited. 
(emmanueljoseph@barbadsotoday.bb)