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A contempt of court application against the executive of the Public Services Association (PSA) for failing to abide by several court orders will go to trial in March.
On Wednesday, Justice Devindra Rampersad refused to strike out the application filed by five members of the PSA.
In an oral ruling, Rampersad rejected the complaints over the delay as he noted that the period did not render his previous orders unenforceable.
On Monday, he heard submissions from attorneys for the PSA who raised preliminary objections to the contempt of court application filed by a group of PSA members in December and the injunction granted to them later that month
Attorney Rajiv Persad, who leads a team of attorneys for the PSA, argued that the contempt application was not filed in accordance with the civil proceedings rules which sets out certain requirements for such proceedings. He also complained that the contempt application was not properly served and there was a substantial delay in bringing it since the PSA members were complaining of alleged breaches of an order of the court in January 2020.
He said the contempt proceedings were only brought two years and nine months after it was alleged the PSA executive did not comply with Rampersad’s orders
“There is an evidential burden which they have failed to meet,” Persad said.
He also said this was not a case where the court could dispense with service of the contempt proceedings which carries a penal clause.
The judge was also asked to discharge the injunction granted in December by Justice Frank Seepersad which froze the union’s bank accounts, only allowing the PSA to pay salaries and water, electricity, telephone, communication and gas bills. Persad said the current executive was doing what it could but there was some difficulty in the interpretation of the order.
While the injunction will stay in place pending the determination of the application, the parties will return to court on Friday to iron out how much access the PSA can get to its accounts.
The injunction applies to all of the union’s assets, including accounts at RBC, JMMB, Republic Bank, Scotiabank, Unit Trust Corporation, Trintoplan Investment, and Plipdeco, as well as four vehicles.
The PSA members who brought the contempt action are Curtis Cuffie, Demetrius Harrison, Annisha Persad, Curtis Meade and Duaine Hewitt.
In justifying their action, their attorney, Raisa Caesar said the contempt action was sought since the beaches by the PSA’s executive was continuous as repeated calls by members for information on section elections, auditing of accounts and membership lists were not met with fulsome responses.
She said the non-compliance kept mounting up to the appearance of a Range Rover luxury SUV in early 2022, “then it became urgent to come before the court,” to protect the PSA’s assets.
“We see dissipation being a real issue,” she said in submissions on Monday.
In their contempt application, the five PSA members accused the union’s executive of failing to comply with its constitution and failing to hold elections for nine years even in the face of court decisions in their favour.
They have also complained of the PSA’s failure to properly constitute the general council and conference; making exorbitant purchases and approving salary increases; and failing to audit its finances for over a decade.
The PSA members are represented by Raisa Caesar and Tekani Trim, while Rajiv Persad, John Heath, and Lionel Luckhoo represented the PSA.
Scotiabank was represented by Jean-Louis Kelly.
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