Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is focusing on being “vindictive” against deputy chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Watson Duke instead of addressing issues at the Industrial Court.
So said Ancel Roget, President of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM).
His comment comes on the heels of an announcement 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 Duke’s appointment as deputy chief secretary while also serving as president of the PSA.
Roget, who delivered a letter to Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Friday at the Eric Williams Financial Complex, 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.”
He said the Attorney General has been very busy trying to take Watson Duke to court, “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 “He (Al-Rawi) 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.”
According to Roget, “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.”
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.
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