By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The courts will be the “final adjudicator” of the Water and Sewerage Management Union’s (WSMU) elections and dispute with the Department of Labour, its president said yesterday.

Responding to concerns that union elections were held last year November, and that he is no longer president after a new board was duly elected, Ednol Rolle said: “I don’t know about them. I know I have a dispute with the Department of Labour regarding that matter and, as far as the courts, I have won that matter thus far.

“People does say what they have to say, but the courts are the final adjudicator of the matter. So, hopefully when the court case is concluded, they will realise that what they were saying was nonsense.”

When asked by Tribune Business if he is treating last year’s election as null and void, Mr Rolle replied: “To me, last year’s election is null and void, and it’s up to the courts to decide that.”

The Water and Sewerage Corporation’s management union (WSMU) has last week given permission to proceed with its Judicial Review action over alleged government interference in its elections.

Supreme Court Justice, Indra Charles, allowed the union’s dispute with John Pinder, director of labour, the Ministry of Labour, and the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) to proceed with all parties scheduled to reappear before her on April 30, 2020. They have until April 17 to file their submissions by e-mail.

The union sought the Judicial Review on the basis that the Ministry of Labour and Mr Pinder, who is also the registrar of trade unions, had tried to set a date for nominations and supervising an election of WSMU executives and officers on November 22, 2019, without its consent. It is arguing that this breaches the Industrial Relations Act and the union’s constitution.

Meanwhile, responding to concerns that his union’s constitution mandated that there should have been elections held last March for new leadership, Mr Rolle said, “All you have to do is ask them to show you the constitution that says so. Just show you the constitution, because I am sure that is what is going on in court. The court will look at the constitution and either you abided by it or you didn’t.”