Six Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managers who were sent on three months administrative leave last December, pending an audit into the operations of the corporation, have been fired.
Chief legal officer Indira Mc Farlane-Lee; corporate secretary Ann Mahabir; chief construction engineer Aaron Chadee; division manager (estate management) Amalie Carter; manager settlements and community relations Renatta Jones and corporate communications manager Rory Moses received their termination letters on Tuesday night. The letters were signed by HDC acting managing director Brent Lyons.
The managers were told in a letter, dated April 18, 2015, that “the board of the HDC has taken a decision to terminate” their contract of employment with the housing company. Four of the managers’ contract were to end later in 2016 and 2017.
The HDC, however, decided to buy out the remaining days of the managers’ contracts and pay them for unused vacation and gratuity, which was outlined in their termination letters.
On December 17, seven managers, along with then managing director, Jearlean John, were sent on three months administrative leave after the new board, chaired by Newman George, ordered an independent audit into the state agency.
John, however, was fired on March 22 for having “an offensive tone” at a meeting with the board on March 21. The board had already axed Lauren Legall, manager of allocations and distribution, on March 17, a mere two weeks before her three-year contract ended. She had served the HDC for ten years
Last month, the HDC had written to the six sacked managers asking that they remain on administrative leave since it had not completed the audit in the three-month period it had initially targeted. But the fired managers are firm in their belief that this was a cleansing process.
“It is so clear that they just wanted to get us out of the HDC. These people are evil. What have we done, except work? The audit is still going on and we were fired. How can this be fair?” one of the sacked managers, who did not want to be identified, asked.
“How are we going to pay our mortgage, installments for our vehicles and maintain our families in this economic downturn and country’s recession? We are feeling helpless,” another terminated manager said.
“Our dismissal was unfair... unjust.”
In light of the action taken, the managers are now contemplating legal action. Yesterday, John said the managers should not have expected a different outcome following her own firing.
“I think the HDC have their agenda. They have their folks to put into the jobs. It’s just astonishing. We cannot run a country like this. This is wrong,” she said in a telephone interview.
John described the fired managers as the “best team” in the public service, adding they went beyond the call of duty and worked loyally and faithfully for the HDC and the public.
She said in executing their jobs the managers never towed the political line nor were they racist or victimised anyone. The firings, John said, would now put a smear on the managers’ names and no one would want to hire them.
Contacted via text message yesterday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell said the chairman and the board of the HDC had jurisdiction in such matters.
“I have full confidence in the chairman and the board of directors in the lawful conduct of its affairs,” Mitchell said.
Calls to George’s cellphone went unanswered and he did not respond to a text message.