Category Archives: COMMENTARY

The Employee’s Rights- Part VI

In this week’s article, we will address:

(1). Who is considered to be an employee entitled to the protections of the Act (Employment);

(2). What must be addressed by the employer in the contract of employment/statement of particulars; and

(3). Minimum wages protections.

Who is protected by the Act

The Act defines an employee as anyone who has entered into a contract of employment.

The contract, which is simply an agreement under which someone works and is paid for the work, does not have to be expressly discussed between the parties; their conduct can be understood as creating such a relationship.

This is an implied contract. Also, it does not have to be in writing, contrary to the misconception at large that “we do not have a contract”. It can be for an unspecified period of time. It can be for a specified period of time. Or it can be for a specific task, independent of how long the employee takes to perform the task. A contract is formed once, based on the prevailing circumstances, the parties conduct, express words or actions, an agreement for one to deliver services and for the other to pay for those services, can be determined to exist.

For the purposes of the Act, a person who is considered to be a “dependent contractor” is also protected as if he were an employee.

A dependent contractor is someone whom we might call a “petty contractor”, someone who has to depend upon the individual, firm, governmental authority or company hiring him to provide the means for him to be able to deliver the work, for example, tools, equipment or money.

What must be contained in the contract of employment

Either set out in what is called the contract, or in a separate written statement, the employee, subject to some exceptions set out in the Act, must be provided with details in writing as follows:

(1). The names of the employee and of the employer;

(2). The date of commencement of the contract;

(3). How much and how to calculate wages/salary;

(4). How regularly the employee will be paid – whether weekly, fortnightly or monthly or otherwise;

(5). The nature of the work to be performed;

(6). Normal hours of work;

(7). Any provisions for the termination of the contract other than those provided by the Act and or for probation, different from those provided by the Act; and

(8). Any disciplinary rules applicable to the employee.

Minimum Wages Protection

Legislation passed under the authority of the Employment Act, called the Minimum Wages Order (“MWO”), sets out minimum wages rates/salaries for agricultural workers, catering assistants, clerical assistants, construction workers, domestic workers, industrial workers, security guards and shop assistants.

Given the extensive categorisation, the only persons expressly and effectively excluded from the MWO are persons who are employed in managerial positions.

Minimum wages vary based on job and classification, job location, and business sector. Some variations are based on parish and sector, for example, there are minimum wages differences in some sectors for jobs in St. George, St. David, Carriacou and St. Andrew. Other variations are based on job classifications, and in the case of heavy duty vehicle drivers, on the weight of the vehicles operated.

(The above was submitted by the Grenada Bar Association)

by Ray Roberts

Grenadian workers need to rekindle the passion to struggle intensely, and protect their hard earned benefits.

The rich and treasured history of May Day, Labour Day, unites the workers of the world to struggle against injustice of all kinds. And, as such, the Labour movement is irreplaceable in society regardless of their shortcomings.

The fact is Government cannot be trusted because the key decision makers are generally capital and business oriented, and some even with a dislike for organised labour.

Nevertheless, each year, May Day arouses the workers around the world to rekindle the memories of their forefathers who led the early struggles for the 40 hour work-week and much of what today’s workers continue to enjoy.

The unfortunate reality in today’s Grenada is that the Government of Dr. Keith Mitchell is leaving absolutely no stone unturned in its arsenal to dismantle the fundamental pillars of the workers movement.

So clever is Prime Minister Mitchell, that he has used the carrot effectively to entice and attract our most influential trade unionists, culminating in the easy capture of once self-proclaimed working’ class hero, Chester Arlington Humphrey – the prize was the colonial-robed President of the Senate; and oh’ how he loves it more than the British.

No longer is the once champion of socialism/communism/social justice Comrade Chester Humphrey on the side of our nurses, pensioners, teachers, and poor working people. Today President Humphrey is more anti-worker than the true capitalists in the Mitchell Government.

At Labour Day Celebrations in St. David on May 1st, Union leaders correctly called him out for what he really is today; and like Adam in the Bible, Chester Humphrey hid. He stayed clear of St. David. Nevertheless, Labour Minister Peter David, who was booed several times during his speech will surely communicate workers’ message of betrayal. All for greed and personal interest.
The booing of Peter David by the workers when he boldly claimed that the Mitchell government was the most pro-worker government in the aftermath of the revolution was an appropriate response.

Under Dr. Mitchell’s reign, the Public Service is rapidly increasing in contract labour and outsourcing of jobs, and decreasing in permanent jobs – a frightening precedent which is now being followed by the private sector.

Contract workers are dependent on their employer for survival, and therefore they avoid trade union membership and activities in fear of that employer.

The effective use of contracting and outsourcing has given Dr. Mitchell’s government political control of the public service workforce. Old as well as young have an allegiance to NNP for their daily bread.

The Ministry of Labour is at its lowest point in Grenada’s history – a Labour Commissioner in Cyrus Griffith who has long gone passed the retirement age; and is now on contract along with another aging, acting senior Labour Officer. Generally very ineffective!

Unions and workers will tell you that the Ministry of Labor under Peter David is a charade rather than a working institution.

Perhaps the most impressive Keith Mitchell trickery in his long reign as leader of government is his failure or refusal to seriously work to reinstate the Constitutional pension for public officers.

His government has enjoyed almost 25 years of political power since the collapse of the Bishop Revolution in 1983; and any doubts about his unwillingness to treat with that issue is that – having signed a Memorandum of Understanding on pension reform on the eve of the 2018 General Elections with the unions, once he regained political power, he reneged – leaving workers and more so those who joined the service after 1985 in despair.

The late Sir Eric Gairy is credited for using the power of the workers to impact their standard of living and influence in Grenadian society. Between 1951 and 1979, that’s when the Bishop coup ended his reign. However, on the contrary, Dr. Mitchell – 1995 to 2008 and subsequent periods in government, has fooled workers; and above all, made many of their leaders look like cheap mercenaries.

His unforgettable 1995 election ploy – a promise of no Personal Income tax on salaries under $60,000 against the advice of the IMF and World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and others, ended in economic disaster and less than two decades later Grenadian workers are back to paying personnel income tax and more taxes than in any other period in our 45 years of Independence.
Dr. Mitchell is the undisputed and deserving winner of taking ordinary workers into a fool’s paradise.

The message to the young workers specifically those under 30 is that Prime Minister Dr. Mitchell takes you on a journey that ends with the overwhelming majority left in emptiness, Yes, there are the privileged few selling passports and a handful of others enjoying the benefits of state contracts who see no wrong; but they too will one day pay a price.

(Ray Roberts is a former Senator for Labour in the Upper House of the Grenada Parliament)

The Employee’s Rights- Part V

So far, the four (4) articles dealing with employee’s rights under the Labour Code have addressed general protections for the employee with penalties for breach of the rights creating those protections, hours of work of employees, annual (vacation) leave and maternity leave.

In this week’s article, we will look at the other types of leave provided for under the Employment Act – Sick Leave & Family Leave.

It is important to recall that what is set out in the Act are minimum standards, and that employees and employers, either directly or through collective bargaining, can agree to better terms.

Sick Leave

The sick leave entitlement provided under the Employment Act may come as a surprise to most employees as it is less generous than the practice and union agreements across both the public and private sectors.

There is no automatic entitlement to any days off every month or year on account of illness, and there is no entitlement to a specified number of days off without a medical certificate.

The Employment Act says that:

(1). After 12 months of continuous service, an employee is entitled to paid sick leave upon production by a registered medical practitioner;

(2). The medical certificate needs to state the nature of the illness and the length of time during which the employee is expected to be unable to attend work;

(3). He/she is only entitled to be paid in wages by the employer the difference between his/her ordinary wage and the amount he/she is entitled to from NIS. While the Act does not spell this out, implicit is that where an employer pays the employee full wages, the employer is entitled to be refunded when the employee receives his/her NIS payment;

(4). If an employee is absent from work on account of illness for more than five (5) separate occasions in one (1) year, the employee is not entitled to wages from his employer; and

(5). Where the illness requires the employee to be absent from work for more than two (2) months, the employer is entitled to require the employee to be attended by a medical practitioner of its choice, at its expense, to decide whether any further sick leave would be granted to the employee.

Family Leave

The Employment Act contemplates that employers and employees can agree to periods of time for leave in addition to maternity, vacation and sick leave, those being on grounds of family responsibilities. The definition of family responsibilities in the Act is not exhaustive but rather illustrative. The circumstances expressly given as examples are: sickness or death of spouse and sickness or death of a close relative or a dependant person.

The Act does not specify whether the leave under this heading is to be paid or unpaid, and as such, one would expect reason to prevail between employer and employee.
Requests for leave which can be justified under the above heading cannot be unreasonably refused by the employer.

(The above was submitted by the Grenada Bar Association)