Cabinet has approved the appointment of Paul Dennis, QC, as chairman of the territory’s Labour Dispute Tribunal, Deputy Premier Dr. Kedrick Pickering told the House of Assembly last Thursday.
Mr. Dennis, he added, “is capable of this undertaking and can provide the leadership that is required.”
The tribunal’s secretariat will be housed in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour and will be led by Jerrilyn King, Dr. Pickering said, adding that the official launch of the tribunal will be May 1.
Dr. Pickering, who is the minister of natural resources and labour, went on to say that the ministry has been working closely with the International Labour Organisation’s Trinidad and Tobago office and with the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago “to ensure that we get the labour tribunal established in the most efficient and effective manner possible.”
“The implementation of the Labour Dispute Tribunal also means that employees and employers alike will be provided with a greater opportunity for social justice,” Dr. Pickering said.
In addition to the Trinidad officials, the ministry has hired a consultant to make sure that the “long awaited” regulations needed for the 2010 Labour Code are put in place, Dr. Pickering said.
A legal consultant to the ministry, Clive Pegus, who was the “primary draftsman” on the 2010 Labour Code, will also be tasked with helping government enact any amendments needed to bring the law up to date, Dr. Pickering said.
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