Roget: AG focusing on Duke instead of Industrial Court

President of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget has said Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is focusing on being “vindictive” against deputy chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke instead of addressing issues at the Industrial Court.

Roget made the statement after delivering a letter to Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Friday at the Eric Williams Financial Complex, Independence Square, Port of Spain.

It was announced on Thursday that Al-Rawi had filed a construction summons in the High Court to interpret a section of the THA Act as it relates to Watson Duke’s appointment as deputy chief secretary while also serving as president of the PSA.

He said one of the critical things he saw happening was the systematic under-resourcing of the Industrial Court, “with the support of this Government, this Attorney General. So while this Attorney General will find himself very busy trying to take comrade Watson Duke to court and focusing on reprisal, spite and vindictiveness, because the Tobago people would have been fed up with them and they spoke out by their vote – instead of taking lesson from that, they are now going on a witch hunt and trying to take out some reprisal against the Tobago people by going after the leader of the PDP that won that THA election.”

Roget said Al-Rawi was busying himself with that, even though the country knows there is a resignation that will be effected at the end of the year.

“He is busying himself trying to take action against the PDP, against the Tobago people and the will of the Tobago people and Duke, while he is not resourcing the court,” Roget said.

He said the court being properly resourced was not just the business of the trade unions but also that of every worker and the people of TT.

“While there is a magistrates' court and the High Court, in this pandemic situation, having virtual hearings, the Industrial Court is not given the resources to have virtual hearings likewise.

“You have the employers now using that as a ruse, saying that they are not coming to the Industrial Court, and as a result of that, the workers' issues get delayed and thrown back somewhere in 2022 and 2023.”

Roget said more courts and court space were needed in the Industrial Court to allow for more judges to deal with the matters.

He said during the pandemic employers were taking advantage of employees and there were more matters going to the court although the court was under-resourced.

Asked to comment further on the issue of Duke and Al-Rawi, Roget said he simply used that as an example and the media conference was not to address that. He said it was used as an example to highlight the vindictiveness of the PNM administration and its neglect of issues that would treat with the vast majority of the country.