In a joint statement yesterday, the two said they are deeply troubled by recent press reports of the contents of a recording of what took place at a bail hearing before Quinlan-Williams as a Magistrate in 2009, and what she is reported to have testified at disciplinary proceedings against her arising out of her conduct of that bail hearing.

“This former magistrate has very recently been appointed a High Court judge and we are absolutely satisfied that the public interest requires that the determination of the disciplinary tribunal be released so that the public can be assured of the propriety of the appointment of Mrs Quinlan-Williams to the office of High Court judge,” Daly and Dumas said.

“We are aware that the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) reportedly sent Mrs Quinlan- Williams a letter stating that she was “exonerated” nine months after the determination of the charge. We do not need to dwell on the current controversies surrounding recent judicial appointments and why, as a result, very many citizens will not accept an assurance from the JLSC as being the end of any matter,” the two said.

“In any event a separate and independent tribunal’s determination concerning the charge against Mrs Quinlan-Williams is apparently available.

The release of this tribunal’s determination has been previously refused on what appears to be a specious ground, uncaring of the public interest and the repugnancy of closed-door justice,” they added in the statement.

Both men also noted that President Anthony Carmona who presided over Quinlan-Williams’ tribunal, while as a senior high court judge, was reported to have penned his report, ‘perilously close to his elevation to President Designate.’ “Any further delay in releasing his determination runs the clear risk of bringing his office into an unseemly fray. This would be in addition to increasing the ongoing reputational damage to which recent blunderings of the JLSC have exposed the Judiciary.

“We call on the JLSC to release forthwith the tribunal’s determination of the charge and/or charges against Mrs. Quinlan-Williams along with any written reasons or report related to it,” the two demanded.

Parents have vowed to keep their children away from the “unsafe environment” until the problem is resolved. This although officials from both the Education Ministry and Education Facilities Company Ltd, toured the facility.

According to officials, the objective of the tour was to do assessment and they are hoping to resolve the problem as soon as possible. “A scope of work will be done and we are hoping to fix problems by this week or as soon as possible,” said an official.

He added that the EFCL has done work on the school’s fencing as well as on the sewer system last year.

The school located at Mission Road and houses 362 students.

Construction for the new school, located next door, started under the previous administration. However, work came to a halt in August 2015, a month before the present government was elected, parents said. Member of Parliament for Caroni Central Dr Bhoe Tewarie, in a press release yesterday, stated that parents are fed-up and the principal, teachers and staff have reached the limit of their patience.

“A new school, about 60 percent complete, and untouched for the last 20 months is now overgrown with bushes next to the old, dilapidated school in which classes are held putting students and teachers at risk,” Tewarie said. The MP stated that Parliament in the 2017 budget allocated funding for the continuation of construction works of the new school.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia gave him the assurance that work would resume before the end of fiscal 2017.

Garcia, he added, subsequently informed the House of Representatives that construction work “was no longer scheduled for 2017 fiscal and would probably take place in 2018 instead”. Dr Tewarie accused the mister of being insensitive to the formidable challenges of students, parents and teachers.

Saying that the school is a good performer one, Tewarie added that students are missing classes when they should be learning and enjoying school days with their peers.

Tewarie stated that he is currently arranging to meet next week with the Parent- Teachers Association to determine a course of action.

The purpose of the meeting is also to ensure schooling for the children and to take action for the completion of the new school.

Lawrence, owner of an auto rental business, was charged by PC Poolchan and Antoine of the Task Force with assaulting PC Antoine, behaving disorderly and resisting arrest. Lawrence, a father of three, stood before Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine in the First Court and initially entered guilty pleas to all three charges.

Court prosecutor Cleydon Seedan said that on Tuesday at about 4.40 pm, Task Force saw a man riding a motorcycle along Charles Street in La Romaine, without any registration plates.

Police pursued the motorcyclist who came to a halt at Lilian Street. The court heard that a group of about 20 passers-by gathered.

The charges, Seedan said, arose when Lawrence who was among a crowd of 20 people watching the officers question the cyclist, shouted at the officers. Officers warned persons in the crowd about their conduct. Lawrence was later arrested. When Seedan said that the Task Force claimed Lawrence told them he would throw hand grenades into the Task Force office, the accused through his attorney Natalie Sanchez- Andrews objected.

Lawrence denied ever threatening anyone and, as Sanchez- Andrews said, he (the accused) sustained injuries while being arrested.

On hearing the attorney’s objection, Magistrate Antoine changed Lawrence’s plea to ‘notguilty’ on all the charges, set bail at $15,000 and adjourned the case to June 14.

During a board meeting, the president is responsible for keeping the discussion on track and ensuring that the group follows the agenda.

To do this, he or she may have to take a firm stand. If an individual consistently goes off track, the president may need to assume a counselling role to rectify the situation.

It is the president’s responsibility to deal with performance problems.

The difficulty is in finding the balance between encouraging participation and discouraging performance problems. This balance will vary with each situation and with each board.

Other members of the board have a responsibility as well: to discourage unacceptable behaviour and to stick to agenda topics. Codes of Ethics or Codes of Conduct must be implemented with sanctions for breach.

Performance issues which are typical in a Board of directors are: lack of attendance, late arrival and going off the agenda. It may be appropriate to contact an outside resource person either to discuss particular problems or to help solve them. Most organisations can provide or recommend a resource person.

There are some important rules to remember when discussing a performance problem with a member of the Board. They are to:
• emphasise the situation rather than the individual;
• maintain a working relationship with the individual; and
• maintain the individual’s self-esteem.

Board members must accept their duty to each other, as well as the organisation and its members. When a Board member’s performance creates a problem, it is the responsibility of the whole board to deal with it. In many cases an unresolved concern or problematic behaviour can interfere with an otherwise well-functioning organisation. Performance problems should be dealt with as soon as they become apparent. Individuals must be made aware of their roles and the expectations of the group. If they fail to see the gravity of the problem, the group must be clear about expected behaviour and the result of not complying.

It is important to realise that Board self-evaluation provides a picture – a record at a given moment in Board history – of the way that the Board and its senior management perceive the Board’s operation at the time. As Board membership and employee’s makeup change, and as conditions and priorities shift, the resets also are likely to change.

The dated results of a selfevaluation process will provide a useful base for a subsequent look at Board’s performance. In many cases, the process will offer one of the Board’s few positive and reliable indicators of change and improvement. The recorded data have been captured as part of the record, and will be available for re-examination in the light of new data. Therefore, some Boards will find it useful to carry out the selfevaluation process on an annual basis.

In some cases, the Board will carry out the evaluation process itself, including the review and planning meetings. In other instances, it will want to involve an outsider facilitator to guide the process.

Often, the skilled facilitator can add more objective perspective than the insider, particularly if asked to analyse the data and prepare a report on the findings.

It is also worthwhile to involve a facilitator if the Board is still moving towards being an effective body. Perhaps directors have come together only recently or feel tensions that may need identifying and dealing with during the review process.

Feedback When discussing behaviour changes with a person who has performance problems, be sure that the person who initiates the discussion emphasises the situation, not the individual. The goal is to be supportive rather than confrontational. Here are some recommended steps to follow:
• state the issue in behavioural terms and clearly indicate the desired behaviour;
• ask the individual for his/her point of view;
• discuss any differences in opinion and ask the individual to suggest how they could address the issue; and
• summarise, record expectations and intended actions, and set a date for follow up The League continues its development thrust and several leadership strategies and developmental knowledge will be imparted to participants at its 17th Annual Regional Leadership Conference, in Panama City, from May 25-28.

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According to Hosein, government has been able to control inflation in spite of a partial removal of the fuel subsidy and some depreciation of the TT dollar.

He also noted that the review has provided signs that the economy is stabilising through several natural gas projects due to come on stream. However, he said other sectors of the economy continued to be neglected.

“I think there was too much focus on the energy and too little focus on the non-energy sector plans,” said Hosein. “While there have been gains made with respect to Sercan, TROC (Trinidad Onshore Compression Project) and Juniper and the progress of the Dragon field is an event for celebration, the truth is the long-term future of the TT economy requires that the non-booming tradable segment of the economy get more attention.” The economist also said the push to implement the property tax to supplement revenues, as well as set up a tax revenue authority were laudable and would help strengthen the revenue base given the continuous shortfall of energy earnings.

However, the UWI lecturer said he is surprised by the continued refusal to devalue the dollar. “I don’t think we need to wait for the stock of international reserves to disappear before we devalue. I think the manufacturing sector needs the jolt as the cost of labour in TT is relatively high,” said Hosein. He also thought more use could be made of the construction sector to stimulate the economy.

“One was hoping that at least one project like the highway to San Fernando would have been mentioned in the midterm review, because one or two big projects like that could have formed the basis around which economic activity could have revolved.” The prime minister and several ministers of government re-commissioned the construction of the highway from San Fernando to Point Fortin on Monday.

Hosein also questioned whether the assumption of a 5.1 percent in nominal GDP was reasonable.

“The data for the manufacturing and the energy sectors available up to this point does not aggressively permit an assumption of a 5.1 percent increase in nominal GDP for fiscal year 2017,” said Hosein.

“Natural gas production for fiscal year 2017 was 93.1 percent of production in fiscal year 2015/16 and this may likely dampen energy sector fiscal revenues. At the same time the manufacturing capacity utilisation index didn’t show any pronounced increases and so the expected 5.1 percent growth in nominal GDP growth does not seem to be emanating from this source either.”

He was speaking at a town meeting hosted by Northern Division police at the Malabar Community Centre, Arima. “We do not want them to be perpetrating the same behaviour over and over. We do not want persons to aid and abet in making police officers corrupt. We don’t want that, because at the end of the day, we are the custodians of the law and we carry a very serious responsibility and we need to operate and be beyond reproach.” Dulalchan said while police officers were expected to abide by their oath, the public also had a responsibility to ensure that they are not “part and parcel of corrupting the local police.” He made the appeal in response to a question during the open forum about citizens’ perceived lack of confidence in the police. A resident, who did not want to give his name, told Dulalchan and other First Division officers many people were afraid to come forward with information for fear of being murdered.

“ It is hard to give information knowing how the country is right now. You say something and next few days they pick you up dead somewhere.

So it is very hard to get that communication going between police and citizens right now. What you think cause that? Because you cannot trust the police.” The man said although the majority of police officers were upholding their responsibilities, “I also met a few in between that are not good and are corrupt.” Dulalchan said once information came to the police, it would be acted upon. “The Police Service is not as perfect as we would want, but I can safely tell you that it is one of the organisations, once information comes to us in relation to any serious criminal misconduct, we would fix matters and we wouldn’t spare no time in dealing with those investigations,” he said.

“In fact, it is one of the organisations where there is an entire body that is called the Police Complaints Authority that oversees all of the investigations we do and our conduct as an organisation.” Dulalchan said the police would continue to engage members of the public for feedback.

“We continue to speak to our officers, because we quite agree on the importance of trust and confidence, because that goes a long way in terms of the relationship,” he said.

“But I think it is also important for me to tell you that the successes that we would have had as an organisation over the years would have been because of the trust the general public has.” As an example, he said the police had recovered some 342 guns from the streets for the year so far.

“That is because of the confidence the general public has in the local police. So whilst I agree that there might be a little pocket here and there, I think the time has come when we have to, as a community and as a citizen, if we see something, we need to say something,” he said.

Dulalchan said people who did not have confidence in their local police could call anonymously at 500-555 or 800-TIPS.

Last July, the community group applied for and received funding in the sum of TT$65,000 from the Digicel Foundation, which assisted in the establishment of a community bee apiary. Since then, the Association has been working closely with experts in the field to get the necessary advice and best practices to ensure optimum success.

Success came on May 3, as the Group launched their brand of honey known as ‘Honey Seco’ at the Brasso Seco Community Centre. The farmers displayed their first honey harvest to the community and other key stakeholders, including the High Commission of Canada, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI).

High on the agenda of the association is the use of climate change adaptation models in the apiary initiative. To date, these include a rain water harvesting system and solar energy. The group also receives the support of the stakeholders in this regard as they too are keen on incorporating strategies to combat climate change.

The association hopes the business enterprise will increase employment and foster further community development.

He said, “We must see everything through the wide lens of inter-generational equity.” He pointed out there were three crucial matters, all promises, which can bring us joy out of the review: 1) The Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) to be segregated into two distinctly different funds; one for Stabilisation and the other for Heritage; 2) World Bank review of public expenditure; and 3) The new Insurance Bill, which is likely to be finalised next month.

Pemberton said, “A Heritage Fund will provide for major investments, which create new and additional capacity to produce beneficial, modern, goods and services making the fullest use of advanced technology, our finest young minds and our human talent.” He said this was the only viable formula for “diversification of the economy”.

“The longer we wait to put aside enough billions into a separate Heritage Fund, the longer we will wander in the desert seeking a new promised land. That transformational journey will take 25 to 40 years. Why have we not started?” He explained his theory by giving three reasons for his forecast. “First, most people who will benefit, either do not now have a vote or don’t have a vote as yet.

Secondly, most people who can successfully manage and work in this transformation are not yet 40 years old and thirdly, the people who have the selfless vision, the unselfish passion and the strong faith which drives outstanding human achievement, have not yet stood up to keep their arms uplifted as Moses did. Like Moses, they will never see the promised land so they must be people with selfless vision, unselfish passion and strong faith. Where are they?” Pemberton’s second point relates to the efficiency, equity and the impact of public spending. “We would all be as happy as we used to be long ago simply by making education spending better; making health spending better and improving social protection spending.” “We can do much of that… with the less money we will have,” he added. “This can be real. That is how the world works today.

And that is why the World Bank was asked to conduct a review of public expenditure in Trinidad and Tobago. That is why we must all take an interest to ensure it gets done.” About the new Insurance Act, Pemberton said.

“Collectively, insurance companies control a substantial share of investments in listed companies and large holdings of real estate.

We worry about the banks – the commercial banks, the Central Bank, the non-banks – but it is the insurance industry that most directly affects our welfare and indirectly the welfare of the country through its powerful, low-key role in the financial system.” Various governments through the years have been working on the full implementation of the Insurance Bill. It was laid in Parliament in 2016 and referred to a Joint Select Committee (JSC) in February this year for further deliberations and discussions with stakeholders in the insurance industry.

That committee has met five times and presented two interim reports to date. It is expected the JSC will complete deliberations by next month. But the reality is that the Bill will not become law this year, unless the government makes it happen.

Pemberton addressed the rate of inflation, which Minister Imbert’s review claimed was low. The minister had said in his statement, “This containment of inflation (in 2016) is a deliberate strategy of the government, designed to cushion the effect on the most vulnerable of the reduced national income and it has worked so far,” something for which Pemberton said we should be grateful.

“But that was last year,” he said, “What were the figures up to January 2017 and what is the trending going forward? We need to know so we can economise long before we stand in front of the cashier trying to pay for groceries. Whatever the oil and gas prices, inflation of only four percent per year can dramatically change your life in six years.

What matters to families with young, old and not so old people is how much cash remains after paying expenses.” Pemberton said, “The only way to avoid that is for the country to increase productivity, to avoid waste, to eliminate bad spending and make the best use of what they have. This is what they do when they are economising.”

Persons who are commonly referred to as permanent employees are, however, employees whose contracts of employment carry no defined dates of termination and who are engaged under existing terms.

Additionally, there are those engaged under contracts for service who are independent contractors or selfemployed.

For the purposes of this article, I am dealing only with persons who are workers within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act.

For the most part, when the term “contract worker” is used in our workplace society it usually refers to someone who is engaged on a fixedterm employment contract. Our industrial court is seldom concerned with the employment status of workers, but more so with the concept of continuous employment.

So, let us examine some widelyheld myths which may be the source of misdirection at the highest level of management.

Myth #1: The services of a contract worker can be terminated for any reason The correct position is that all workers, be they on fixed-term contracts or on permanent contracts, are protected by identical legal rights, particularly as this relates to the termination of the contract of employment as a result of disciplinary action. This means that an employer must treat with all workers in a fair and just manner and that where disciplinary action is contemplated it is implemented in a manner consistent with good industrial relations practices.

Accordingly, the same principles of progressive discipline must apply, particularly where it relates to concerns about the worker’s performance. Further, a contract worker would be entitled to Trade Union representation at any disciplinary proceeding where allegations of misconduct or poor performance are made against him.

Myth #2: Contract workers do not have the same rights to statutory or employment benefits as permanent workers The terms and conditions of a contract worker will be normally expressed in a written contract of employment. Accordingly, these may differ from those applicable to permanent employees. However, where there exists a collective agreement in operation between the employer and a recognized majority union, and a contract worker is engaged in a position in the bargaining unit, then the applicable terms contained in the collective agreement are usually expressed in the fixedterm contract. Where these are not expressed, then the general terms in the collective agreement will apply.

Our laws for example provide significant benefits to workers in this jurisdiction. These benefits apply regardless of the employment status of the worker. For example, the Minimum Wages Act is quite detailed and provides for a benchmark for wages and other benefits like vacation leave and sick leave. Further, all workers are entitled to National Insurance benefits subject to their contribution; and maternity benefits are mandated subject only to the completion of one continuous year of service.

This condition precedent is also applicable under the Retrenchment and Severance Benefit Act and is the only legislation that provides exceptions to the payment of a statutory benefit based on employment status. As an example, casual, seasonal or fixed-term employees are generally not entitled to severance benefits whether or not they have completed one continuous year of service. However, the onus would be on the employer to establish the true status of these persons. In such instances, our industrial court has repeatedly determined that it will not allow employers to mask the true status of a worker who has provided years of continuous service, but who may have been engaged on recurring and renewable fixed-term contracts of employment.

Myth #3: Contract workers cannot enjoy job security It is correct to say that workers on genuine fixed-term contracts of employment do not enjoy the same degree of job security as those with permanent status.

This is simple to understand as such employment arrangements are really intended to facilitate temporary project-type work as opposed to appointments to established positions in the organization structure. It is obvious, therefore, that upon completion of the project for which the employee was engaged, the contract would automatically terminate without liability to the employer. However, the case may be entirely different where, as is often the case, the worker was engaged to perform regular work in an established position. In this regard, the employer may find it difficult to simply rely on the contract having expired for refusing to offer the worker continuing employment. In such circumstances, the employer may be required to provide justification and show good reason why the worker’s contract was not renewed.

Making the right decision with respect to the employment status of workers is an important consideration in the management of an employer’s workforce. It is a worker’s responsibility to inform his/herself as to the rights, benefits and protection available under our laws. Conversely all employers are obligated to apply our laws as they were intended and particularly as interpreted in our jurisprudence.

I am convinced that in many instances and upon closer analysis of rights, entitlements, obligations and responsibilities, many employers will come to the realization that the practice of continuously renewing fixed-term contracts of employment provides little or no commercial advantage as opposed to offering contracts of permanent employment.

Euro Car Parts of Charlieville and D&D Auto World, Freeport are contending that the Nissan Serena vehicles imported, are exempt from duties and motor vehicle taxes by virtue of what is contained in the 2016/2017 fiscal budget (Finance Act of 2016).

The two dealerships have been granted permission by Justice James Aboud to have reviewed, a decision of the Computer of Customs.

According to their lawsuit, the two dealerships are seeking declarations that the decision to deny the benefit from duties was illegal and constituted an error in law.

They are also seeking an interim order to have the vehicles released and wants an expert appointed to investigate the components of their vehicles and submit a report to the court.

They are also seeking an order of mandamus compelling the Comptroller to clear their vehicles without the need for them to pay duties and taxes. Their lawsuit states that on March 14 and 16, respectively, they imported a number of Nissan Serenas into the country. They say the vehicles are described as hybrid both by the exporter and Japanese manufacturer.

They further contend that the propulsion system in the vehicles has both internal combustion engine and a rechargeable battery which is capable of propelling the hybrids.

According to their lawsuit, the budget provided that taxes and duties shall not be charged on a hybrid vehicle with an engine size not exceeding 1999cc, which is capable of being propelled by a combustion of an internal combustion engine and an onboard rechargeable energy system or other energy storage device.

The dealerships said when their vehicles entered the country, their brokers were told they would only be released if the taxes and duties were paid. The two dealerships are represented by attorneys Jagdeo Singh, Kiel Tacklalsingh, Rishi Narine and Ananda Rampersad