Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
Finance Minister Colm Imbert has refused to disclose final statistics on the number of public servants at the Inland Revenue Division (IRD) and the Customs and Excise Division (CED), who have indicated their willingness to join the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA).
In a WhatsApp exchange with Guardian Media yesterday, Imbert declined to comment while the legal challenge to the operationalisation of the TTRA, brought by the Public Services Association (PSA), is still pending before the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.
Imbert said, “As you very well know, this matter is sub judice. It is simply wrong of you to attempt to get a comment from us while a judicial decision is pending.”
When submissions were presented before the country’s highest appellate court last month, the PSA sought an injunction to stop the Finance Minister from giving affected workers until July 31 to decide whether they wished to move to the TTRA, voluntarily retire or be transferred to another area of the public service.
The injunction was refused, as UK Supreme Court president Lord Robert Reed said he and his colleagues were content with the ministry’s assurance that the decisions indicated by staff would not be implemented until the PSA’s final appeal is determined in early October.
Days before the deadline elapsed, Public Administration Minister Allyson West, who was acting for Imbert, told Guardian Media that almost 60 per cent of the approximately 1,200 workers at the IRD and the CED had not given an indication. She claimed that the majority of the remainder had agreed to join the TTRA.
Last week, acting Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Wendy Barton met PSA president Leroy Baptiste virtually and agreed there was insufficient information coming from the Ministry of Finance and the TTRA, especially in relation to Voluntary Separation Packages (VSEP) for staff who chose to retire voluntarily.
In its appeal, the PSA contended that a High Court judge and the Court of Appeal got it wrong when they rejected the case brought by its member and customs officer Terissa Dhoray.
The PSA and Dhoray challenged the constitutional validity of the legislation which seeks to replace the IRD and CED with the TTRA.
Yesterday, Guardian Media reported that the TTRA has advertised for two senior positions —senior manager, business optimisation and analytics and senior manager, project portfolio.