Colleagues were pitted against each other yesterday as a group of staff members from the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) began their lawsuit challenging the organisation’s promotion procedure.
Almost two dozen field auditors are contending they were bypassed for promotion this year despite being more qualified that their colleagues, who were promoted ahead of them in April.
During their trial before Justice Nadia Kangaloo in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday morning, the employees contended they had a legitimate expectation that they would be considered over their colleagues who were less qualified.
Many of the litigants, along with their colleagues whose promotions they are challenging, were present in court for the trial. However, the division amongst the co-workers was apparent as they sat at opposing ends of the courtroom.
Making submissions yesterday, their lawyer Douglas Mendes, SC, referred to two correspondence from Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) and the Director of Personnel Administration (DPA) in which both senior public servants assured the auditors that they would receive special consideration based on their professional qualifications.
As he stated that the Public Service Commission (PSC) acted unfairly when it failed to act in accordance with the previous assurances, Mendes called on Kangaloo to reverse its decision.
“The PSC has to start the process over again and consider everyone who applied based on the CPO’s recommendation, bearing in mind the legitimate expectation created. It is clear that the PSC did not consider the legitimate expectation created so the process must start again,” Mendes said.
In response, Senior Counsel Russell Martineau rejected the claims as he contended that the neither the CPO or DPA had the power to speak on behalf of his client (the PSC).
“The CPO deals with terms and conditions, while the PSC manages promotions. The communication may have given rise to some hope or some kind of expectation but certainly not a legitimate one. That is the bottom line,” Martineau said.
He added that even if the assurance had come directly from his client it would not be binding as it (PSC) has an obligation to manage promotion of public servants based on the guidelines set in the Civil Service Regulations.
“You can not have any legitimate expectation that is in contradiction with the regulations. That is fundamental,” Martineau said as he stated his client was required to consider experience and competence in addition to academic qualifications.
Martineau’s views were reiterated by attorney for the DPA Gerald Ramdeen who stated that his client’s communications with the workers was insufficient to establish a legitimate expectation.
The lawsuit was also strongly opposed by attorney for the field auditors who were successfully promoted, Llewellyn Thompson, who called upon Kangaloo to throw out the affected workers’ claim seeking the reversal of his clients’ promotions.
“The Public Services does not operate in that way. They are seeking special treatment based on the qualifications they possess. They are eligible and qualified but cannot be given special treatment,” Thompson said.
Kangaloo is expected to deliver judgment in the case on July 27.