Chaguanas Borough Corporation in breach of SRPs contract

A High Court judge has ruled in favour of four special reserved police officers (SRPs) who did not receive their promised gratuity at the end of their reassignment to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC) in 2010.

On September 17, Justice Carol Gobin granted judgment in favour of Aaron Rambahal, Curtis Ramesar, Omatee Ali and Peter Charles, who were reassigned to the CBC from the police service in March 2010.

The four, represented by attorneys Mario Merritt, Alexia Romero and Sade McQueen, said they signed agreements with the CEO of the CBC for their base salary, cost of living allowance and meal and duty allowances.

Before this, they contended an agreement was reached between the Adjutant Special Reserve Police and the CBC on the payment of gratuity -20 per cent of their gross salary - for the four. The agreement was part of the terms and conditions of their reassignment.

They provided copies of the signed agreement as evidence of their claim.

During their service, they received increases in pay and allowances.

In 2019, the Commissioner of Police requested all SRP officers at various regional corporations be released to the Adjutant SRP and the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry instructed the CBC to release the officers and ensure all payments owed to them were settled.

On April 29, 2019, the four were told they were to proceed on all accumulated leave.

All four received separate letters from the CBC on their release dates and at the end of their accumulated leave, they reported to the Adjutant SRP office and resumed duties with the police service.

However, their lawsuit contended they made numerous requests for payment of their outstanding gratuity to the CBC and were asked in 2021 to “hold their hands” on legal action. Their lawsuit alleged breach of contract by the CBC by failing to pay their gratuity for 2010-2019.

In her ruling, the judge declared the CBC had breached the contract with the SRPs.

Attorneys for the four are expected to provide the judge with the figures of the sum they are owed for her order for their outstanding gratuity. The CBC was represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Robert Abdool-Mitchell and Jared Jagroo.

In its defence, the CBC contended there was no contractual agreement for gratuity. CEO Dianne Lakhan said the four SRPs were reassigned by the police to the corporation on a month-to-month basis for three contract periods but there were no express or implied terms for the payment of gratuity. The CBC also contended that the claim was statute-barred and outside the four-year period in which to do so. However, this was rejected by the judge.

The CBC also claimed the four were SRPs employed by the government, under the command of the commissioner and the corporation was not responsible for the ministry or CoP’s intervention to assign and reassign them.

“The decision to move them from the defendant to the TTPS was at the behest of the Commissioner and the Ministry. It was not a decision of the defendant to end the employment between the parties.”

The CBC also contended that since the four were still employed through the Adjutant SRP’s office, their term of engagement was not yet done, so they were not entitled to gratuity.