By Prior Beharry
PRESIDENT of the Industrial Court Deborah Thomas- Felix is providing a more practical approach to industrial relations in her new book – Labour Law and Good Industrial Relations – Progressive Discipline and Maternity Protection in the Workplace.
On Thursday, Thomas-Felix told AZP News after a photo op at the Industrial Court at St Vincent Street in Port of Spain, that this book dealt with IR issues that may arise daily in the workplace. This is her second book.
After her first book last year called Labour Law in the Commonwealth Caribbean: Practice of Good Industrial Relations in the 21st Century, Thomas-Felix said she was asked about the day-to-day challenges which would arise in the workplace.
She said, “I recognised there was a knowledge gap.”
So while her first book looked at retrenchment and day-offs, her new one deals with warning letters and suspension with and without pay.
Thomas-Felix, who has been president since December 2011, said, “This one is the ‘nuts and bolts,’ the more practical everyday IR that you will use in the workplace.”
She said in the book of 564 pages, readers will find what are the ingredients of a charge to bring against an employee and about the unilateral alteration of the terms and conditions of employment as well as the right of a worker to be heard.
Thomas-Felix added that the book also looks at if an employee gets a warning letter if he should respond and how long should such a letter last on his file.
She noted that the book also looks at maternity leave as she knows of instances where employees were fired due to pregnancy and even not allowed back to the workplace after giving birth.
Labour Law and Good Industrial Relations – Progressive Discipline and Maternity Protection in the Workplace is available online at www.trendsinlabour.com.
A formal launch takes place at the Hyatt on Saturday.
