A Tobago woman was awarded $75,000 in damages after she took the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) to the Industrial Court for not promoting her. Watson Duke, president of the Public Services Association (PSA) which represented the woman, said the woman requested anonymity for personal reasons. He said she held a senior job with the TRHA and the time had come for her to be promoted to an acting position. "She had all the experience and qualifications necessary but management chose not to promote her, as is now happening widely in the public service," Duke said.
He said another person was chosen over her for the position and the woman was told that worker was more senior than her. Duke described this reason as "flimsy and frivolous." "Every employee in every organisation has a right to fair treatment and the right to make use of all the opportunities for upward mobility without being denied," he told the T&T Guardian. Duke said last week Monday the Industrial Court awarded $75,000 in damages to the woman after a year-long battle. "The court ruled that the actions of the TRHA were unjust and harsh." Duke said the victory had fired up the PSA and it was now gearing up for another battle, this time with Bristow Caribbean Limited. The PSA was aiming to bring Bristow, a helicopter service company based at Piarco, to a full stop over the dismissal of a pilot for allegedly joining the union, he said.
Asked if they were planning to close down the company, he replied: "No, just end the exploitation."
Duke claimed the PSA had representation for the workers at Bristow and tried to get workers involved in the union. He added: "Management decided to send a strong message to the union and other workers.
"They dismissed a helicopter pilot, claiming redundancy, since then, he has had a hard time finding a job.
"Once you receive a dishonourable dismissal, it's hard to get a job with another company. His career has come to an immediate halt." Duke said the PSA sought to have Bristow remove this stigma from the pilot and even reinstate him. "They were not interested in settling the matter so we are going all out. We are going to court. We have to bring Bristow to a full stop."
A senior Bristow official said Duke's allegations about the company were incorrect. "Every worker has a right to join a union. To say that the pilot was dismissed for joining the PSA is incorrect." Requesting anonymity, she said: "We have a matter (with the dismissed pilot) since 2009 and it's not because of his association with the union. He took up the matter with the PSA." Only when pressed the official disclosed the reason, she said: "We were doing a right-sizing exercise due to a downturn in activities. Thirty workers, including the pilot, were retrenched. They were all affected. He was the only pilot." The official said Bristow workers were unionised and the company had a long-established relationship with the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union. Duke said: "We would like to remind our members at Bristow that we will not give up the fight to ensure that they are properly represented. "We are gearing up to tackle the injustice which their colleague received because of his right to associate. "Like our matter with the TRHA, we expect victory."