By John Myers Jr. Staff ReporterTHE ISLAND'S trade unions have expressed disappointment with a ruling by the Court of Appeal that employers are not bounded by law to inform unions of redundancies.
"We are disappointed in the ruling, it ignores the social context in which we are operating and the need for us to build consensus and to encourage social dialogue as part of good labour management relationship," said Danny Roberts, vice-president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).
RULING FLAWED
Lambert Brown, first vice-president of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) was particularly critical of the court's ruling, saying it was not only flawed but one which should be appealed in the United Kingdom's Privy Council.
"I believe, frankly, that the judgement is flawed and it is not good law," Mr. Brown stressed.
According to Mr. Brown, who consulted the Labour Relations Code, the judgement was handed down without sufficient knowledge of the country's labour laws and codes. "I think that this judgement may very well be per incuriam, that it is a judgement that did not take all the laws and authorities into consideration," he said.
UNJUST DISMISSAL
The disclosure of the ruling was done by the court this month when it upheld an appeal brought by the Institute of Jamaica. The Institute had claimed that the Judicial Review Court erred when it upheld a ruling of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) that a temporary worker was unjustifiedly dismissed and should be reinstated.
The court also found that the Ministry of Labour did not have the power to make provisions in the Labour Relations Code (LRC) for employers to have consultations with unions, either under the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA), or the Employment (Termination and Redundancy Payments) Act.
As outlined in section 11 of the LRC, employers are compelled to consult with unions when there were going to be redundancies.
Mr. Roberts, however, is optimistic that the ruling will not affect current efforts to establish a social partnership between trade unions and employers. "I do hope that the custom and practise which we have been courting for the last couple of years between labour and management to build stronger levels of co-operation and the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) that we have entered into...will take precedence over this ruling," he said.
