Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterREVENUE COURT Judge Roy Anderson has ordered the National Commercial Bank (NCB) to pay eight former senior managers a total of $24 million with interest at 12 per cent for increased salaries for 1999 to 2002.
The claimants who were all former members of the Senior Managers Group filed a suit in the Supreme Court in 2002 claiming that they were entitled to salary increases. They said that the salaries of members of the group remained frozen for the years 1997 to 1999. The group subsequently submitted a claim and the bank said some consideration would be given to increasing the basic pay.
Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C. who represented the claimants had asked the judge to find that there was a legally binding agreement between the parties.
OPPOSED THE CLAIM
The bank had opposed the claim on the ground that there was no contract capable of enforcement.
Members of the group joined the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) in June 2000. The bank challenged the right of some members of the group to become unionised claming that they were part of the bank's policy-making group. The bank went to the Supreme Court and got an injunction which stayed the May 2000 award of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal giving the senior managers the go ahead to participate in a poll if they wished to be unionised. The bank sought an order to quash the tribunal's award.
Following discussions between the parties 'certain understandings' were arrived at on June 21, 2001. As a result of the understandings, the bank did not pursue the action in court and the group did not pursue its attempts to be represented by the BITU.
It was agreed at the meeting of June 21, 2001 that the bank would reinstate the Salaries Committee of the Board 'with a view to expediting a review of the emoluments of the group'.
The group prepared a proposal for a new salary scale and submitted it to the bank in September 2001. The bank advised the group at a meeting in September 2001 that the executive committee had approved the proposed salary increases 'subject to the approval of the Bank of Jamaica.' The bank informed the group at a meeting on January 22, 2002 that the matter had been referred by the Bank of Jamaica to the minister who had indicated that he could not support a ten per cent increase as proposed but would support a four per cent increase.
Lord Gifford, who represented the former senior managers argued before the court that there was a legally binding agreement which was subject to an approval by the Bank of Jamaica. He said the agreement became effective when the undertaking lapsed on March 22, 2002 so performance by the bank (NCB) was required.
Emil George, Q.C. who represented the bank argued that there was no contract capable of enforcement.
NO EVIDENCE
The judge said there was no evidence to indicate that the matter had been referred to the minister pursuant to any statutory or regulatory obligation to do so. "I have come to the view therefore that the voluntary undertaking given by the bank could not by its terms change what might otherwise be a valid and enforceable agreement into one, which is void for illegality," the judge held.
In handing down judgment in favour of eight of ten senior managers who brought the suit, the judge made awards which included Executive Incentive Share Scheme and profit share. Redundancy payments are also to be re-calculated in respect to some of them. Ten former senior managers had filed the suit but two were not successful in their claim.
