State-owned gas company National Petroleum (NP) has been ordered to reinstate immediately 68 workers who were fired for engaging in alleged illegal industrial action three years ago. The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed the company’s appeal of the Industrial Court’s ruling that it was “harsh and oppressive” to dismiss the workers.
As a result of the judgment, the company has been ordered to pay the workers’ salaries and uphold the benefits they lost when they were dismissed in October 2014. The court also upheld the Industrial Court’s decision to award each worker $40,000 in damages for the action taken by the company.
Speaking to reporters outside the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, after the ruling, Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union president general, Ancel Roget, said the court’s decision had vindicated the union and the workers who chose to speak out against corrupt and unsafe practices at the company.
“A decision was taken to go after OWTU. The Industrial Court ruled they were wrong to dismiss the workers and the Court of Appeal today upheld that decision and dismissed the company’s appeal.
“It has been a long and difficult road but in the end the union and workers have emerged victorious,” he said.
In a press release issued shortly afterwards, the company said it would immediately commence a reconciliation and reintegration programme for the successful workers.
“In spearheading the return-to-work programme for the workers, a detailed programme has been developed in conjunction with a number of key stakeholders that will ensure the successful reintegration of the dismissed employees, while also attending to the needs of the existing employees,” the release said.
“As part of its overriding commitment to building the nation and improving the quality of life for its citizens, NP’s focus remains the use of its collective strengths to ensure the timely delivery of fuel to our service station network; airports in Trinidad and Tobago; industrial customers, including the Port Authority; all hospitals and all of the protective services,” it added.
According to the evidence in the case, in October 2014 NP fired the 68 workers who it claimed had engaged in an illegal work stoppage from August 13-15, 2013. The 68 were among 86 employees the company had initially suspended following the work stoppage.
The Industrial Court had ruled that the disciplinary hearing conducted by NP to dismiss the workers did not meet the minimum standards of natural justice in significant respects and was not conducted in accordance with the principle of good industrial relations practices.
In its unsuccessful appeal, the company had claimed the Industrial Court did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the trade dispute brought by the union on the workers’ behalf and the Court of Appeal was entitled to review the lower court’s findings. Appellate Judge Nolan Bereaux, who wrote the 41-page majority judgment, dismissed the company’s two main grounds.
“The findings of fact upon which the court made its ruling are sufficiently well founded to debar the Court of Appeal from reviewing those findings as well as its decision. In any event, I agree with the decision and consider it to be correct both in fact and law,” Bereaux said.
Head of the appeal panel, Appellate Judge Allan Mendonca, agreed with Bereaux’s judgment, but Appellate Justice Rajendra Narine dissented. Seenath Jairam, SC, Allister Khan and Derek Ali represented the company, while the OWTU’s legal team consisted of Douglas Mendes, SC, Michael Quamina and Anthony Bullock.