Judge Kokaram offers advice on mediation

Kokaram offered to share his experience and that of others experienced in mediation with the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC) at a workshop held at the Eric Williams Financial Complex last Thursday.

The tripartite council is chaired by Minister of Planning and Development, Camille Robinson-Regis.

A release from NTAC said that Kokaram’s interaction with members of the council took the form of a two-part workshop session which emphasised the virtues of compassion, collaboration and consensus in bringing together diverse views and perspectives.

He said the “immeasurable value of constructive dialogue, open and frank discussion is a necessary requirement for achieving social justice, happiness and a more productive, caring and peaceful society.” Kokaram, who was accompanied to the workshop by Chairman of the Tax Appeal Board, Anthony Gaffoor, and a team experienced in mediation, also gave an overview of tripartism, quoting examples of global best practices which had their genesis in seeking alternative mechanisms toward dispute resolution.

The team included senior political officer at the United Nations, Elizabeth Solomon, who shared her worldwide experiences of meaningful tripartite engagements.

The release said that participants in the workshop engaged in role plays designed to embrace the spirit of constructive dialogue as the mechanism to reset and reframe the Trinidad and Tobago agenda. It was also aimed to better equip them to arrive at consensus in an environment conducive to advancing industrial peace, harmony, compromise and trust.

The NTAC comprises representatives from government, labour and business. It is mandated to engage in dialogue that would bring meaningful resolution to the seemingly intractable social and economic problems that confront the society, NTAC said. Last Thursday’s meeting was the eighth meeting of the council and several similar workshops planned for the future, the release said.