High Court Judge Frank Seepersad is expected to determine a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by former University of T&T (UTT) provost Dr Fazal Ali in January next year.
Seepersad reserved January 23 to deliver his decision in Ali’s case after conducting a trial and setting time lines for written submissions on Monday.
According to the court filings, Ali first joined UTT in 2002 when he was assigned to the office of the campus principal to work on special projects.
In May 2012, Ali was hired for the position of provost and was tasked with overseeing the academic community, curriculum content, exams, and student discipline.
The following month, he was asked to temporarily hold the position of president, who handles corporate governance of university facilities, procurement, budgets, and finance. He held that position until the following year.
In May 2015, Ali was given a new three-year contract, however, shortly after a new board was appointed following the general election in September of that year, his performance was reviewed.
Several months later, Ali was informed that he was placed on administrative leave to facilitate an audit ordered by the board. Dr Ali claimed that he was contacted by a newspaper reporter to comment on the issue before he received official confirmation.
At the end of the audit, Ali was charged with two disciplinary offences over his alleged role in ending the employment of a senior lecturer and a programme administrator.
The disciplinary tribunal led by former Industrial Court vice president Gregory Baker found Ali guilty and he was terminated.
In his lawsuit, Ali contended that the board and tribunal failed to consider that he had a minor role in not renewing the duo’s contracts as that fell within the remit of its vice president of human resources and the previous board.
Ali claimed that he was merely asked whether the absence of the two employees would affect the university’s ongoing academic programmes and that his opinion was confirmed by several other senior staff members.
Through his claim, Ali is seeking almost $800,000 in compensation, which represents the salary and benefits he would have received for the remaining eight months of his contract.
At the time of his termination, Ali’s monthly remuneration package included a salary of $55,000, a $10,000 vehicle allowance, and an $11,000 housing allowance.
While being cross-examined by UTT’s lawyer Stephen Singh, yesterday, Ali maintained that he was not provided with a copy of the audit report to respond to the various allegations against him before being suspended and prosecuted for the charges.
“I never saw this document until it was requested by my lawyer. It was not clear to me the reasons why I was sent away,” Ali said.
In his evidence, UTT’s corporate secretary Dorwin Manzano admitted that he only issued Dr Ali with official communication of his suspension after he ( Ali) was contacted by a journalist to comment on the development.
“He said he knew already because someone from the press called him,” Manzano said.
Manzano stated that Ali was not the only official to be implicated in the audit.
He claimed that the university’s vice president of human resources was questioned over the findings in the audit report but resigned before any disciplinary action was commenced.
While being quizzed by Ali’s lawyer Russell Martineau, SC, Manzano admitted that he was aware that Dr Ali had recommended that the two workers be given one-year contracts to the human resource executive.
He also confirmed that the university’s human resource committee, chaired by the then UTT chairman, had the final say on the contracts as both employees were over 70 and the university had a policy of only awarding contracts to staff over the age in special circumstances.
Ali was also represented by Fyard Hosein, SC, Anjali Maharaj and Aadam Hosein. Amanda Adimoolah appeared alongside Singh for UTT.
