OWTU Wins Appeal Against T&tec’s Zero Salary Increase Ruling; Case Sent Back To Industrial Court For Rehearing By New Panel

The Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) has won its appeal against the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s (T&TEC) decision to award workers zero salary increases for 2015-2017. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Industrial Court had acted unfairly by relying on parliamentary sub-committee minutes and statements from T&TEC’s former general manager without allowing the union to respond. The court found this violated principles of fairness and natural justice. As a result, the Court of Appeal overturned the Industrial Court’s decision and ordered the case to be reheard by a different panel. The OWTU was represented by Anthony Bullock of Chancery Chambers, while T&TEC was represented by Senior Counsel Ravi Nanga.