By Chantalé Flecther
THE CONTRACTS of 41 workers of the Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL) were terminated so they were not retrenched.
This according to Minister of Finance Colm Imbert responding to a question posed by Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh to Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby- Dolly in the Parliament on Friday.
Imbert said, “Forty-one employees of EFCL had their contracts terminated pursuant to the terms and conditions of their contracts of employment.”
He added that EFCL was also engaged in a live-action before the High Court of Trinidad and thus could not say anything else on the matter.
However, when Indarsingh raised concerns about the Retrenchment, Severance and Benefit Act as the workers were served with letters of retrenchment, Imbert accused him of deliberately twisting his words.
The finance minister said, “I was very careful, I did not use the word retrenchment. I made absolutely no reference to the Retrenchment, Severance and Benefits Act.”
Imbert added, “I will not allow the MP to trap me into saying something that is incorrect. There were no retrenchments, the contracts were terminated in accordance with the terms of those contracts.”
In February, 41 workers received termination letters signed by EFCL chairman Savitree Seepersad which explained the company’s long inability to function in its capacity and such led to its closure.
However, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) called on the Government to ensure workers were rightly paid for their service.
Since then, some terminated workers had not received their outstanding salaries and gratuity, sources said.
