Former BWU Employee Awaiting Decision From The ERT

 More than 7 years after he was dismissed from the Barbados Workers Union, Mr. Christopher Jordan is yet to find out if his claim of unfair dismissal will be successful. At present he is awaiting a decision from the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT). Mr. Jordan is being represented by Mr. Caswell Franklyn, while the BWU has a team of about three lawyers as well as the support of the current and a past GS. 

Seven years is a long time to wait for anything, and one must first ask why it has taken this long. This long wait is becoming the norm in our judicial system and this case is yet another example of the slow pace at which the wheels of justice grind in Barbados. The Attorney General complained in 2020 about this untenable situation where dismissed employees had to wait years before conciliation meetings could be convened by the labour department. At that time there was a backlog of over 3000 cases. In response to the concern outlined by the AG, The Labour Minister said he was going to meet with the Attorney General to sort out the backlog. It seems that the discussion is still outstanding, as every day the complaints grow louder, and louder as dismissed employees feel more and more that they are being denied justice. 

Indeed, it was William Gladstone who said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The unpleasant reality of our judicial system is that only those who have been wronged come knocking on the doors of the court to seek redress. There is an expectation that employees who have been dismissed unfairly will receive prompt and efficient service from the labour department and receive redress from the employer which they claim have done them wrong.

They expect that after they have submitted an unfair dismissal claim that a reconciliation meeting will be promptly arranged and that if there is no resolution the matter will be referred to the Employment Rights Tribunal. They also expect that the Employment Rights Tribunal will be efficient and make decisions within a reasonable time frame. Our justice delivery system as outlined in the ERT, however, largely falls short of this expectation. 

The sad and painful truth of our current system is that there are several cases pending at the Employment Rights Tribunal and the Labour Department, some of which have no chance of being resolved anytime soon. The fifth chapter of Amos, verse 24, serves as a reminder that the wheels of justice do indeed turn slowly, churning out interminable paperwork and polls. Let's hope that the day will come soon when righteousness and justice will flow together like a river and the long wait will be a thing of the past.  

The decision by the ERT in relation to the Christopher Jordan case will be an interesting one. It is a case in which a union is being accused of unfairly dismissing one of its own employees. It should however be noted that Mr. Jordan is not the only employee to bring charges against the BWU for unfair dismissal.  There are about five others including former senior officers. This is not something that one would expect to happen within the workplace occupied by a union. Afterall,  unions in Barbados usually employs persons well-schooled and experienced in the Employment Rights Act and on a daily or regular basis gives guidance to employees who claim to have been unfairly dismissed. They represent members at the domestic level as well as at the labour department during conciliation meetings. 

The fact that another trade union, Unity Workers Union is representing a former employee(s) who previously worked at another union, is also interesting.  This is unprecedented. There were times in the early days of its existence when some staff members of competing unions, expressed the view that suggested that Unity Workers Union was a “fly-by -night” union and not sustainable.  This was also said about BIGWU, and it was true. 

So, we await the decision of the ERT as it relates to the Christopher Jordan case. Will the decision show that the BWU unfairly dismissed Mr. Jordan? Will it show that the BWU was correct in terms of the disciplinary procedure which was utilized? Or will it demonstrate that yet again it seems that decision makers there have not yet read the book on the Employment Rights Act of Barbados? Hopefully time will soon tell.