Petrotrin’s vice president of Human Resources, Keith Ramnath, has been summoned to appear in court on August 11, 2015, for his role in the dismissal of Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) branch president at Trinmar, Ernesto Kesar. Back in November 2014, Kesar was dismissed for being absent for four hours without permission.
Ramnath, according to Petrotrin’s website, is responsible for Human Resources, Human Resource Services, Industrial Relations, Information Communications and Technology, Medical, Organization Development, Procurement, Security, Facilities, Property Management and Private Payroll.
In November, Ramnath signed a letter firing Kesar for the unsanctioned four-hour leave on October 17. Kesar had previously worked at Trinmar for 20 years and was on a five-day suspension from Trinmar for holding union meetings on site when he was dismissed.
The T&T Guardian had reported then that Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancel Roget said that Kesar had requested the four hours to deliver some letters in Port-of-Spain.
Roget said then that Kesar was fired because the letters contained some embarrassing missteps made by management in the marine transportation environment.
Roget had claimed political victimisation then and promised to challenge the dismissal.
The summons directed to Ramnath states that Ramnath is accused of “victimising the complainant by issuing a letter of dismissal to him.”
The Sunday Guardian directed questions on the issue to Petrotrin’s president Khalid Hassanali and its communications manager Gillian Friday but neither responded.
Roget, in a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian, said this court action was unprecedented.
“The union finds it absolutely necessary that it seeks justice in this matter,” he said.
“We have maintained that this was an attempt to victimise a trade union and an attempt to cow workers into submission. This is a significant development for the trade union movement,” Roget said.