A woman has succeeded in her lawsuit over protracted delays in the payment of her deceased husband’s gratuity and pension after he voluntarily resigned from the public service two decades ago.
Delivering a judgment, yesterday morning, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad upheld Cheryl Davis’ constitutional lawsuit against the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development.
According to the evidence in the case, Davis’ husband Horace joined the ministry as a clerk in 1984.
In early 1989, he was suspended and his salary was reduced by a quarter after he was charged with larceny.
In 1999, he was convicted of the offence and fined $1,000 by a magistrate.
In 2004, he voluntarily resigned from the public service. The Public Service Commission (PSC) discontinued the disciplinary proceedings against him over the criminal charge but chose to not restore the portion of his salary that was withheld during the period of his suspension.
In 2011, the ministry’s permanent secretary wrote to the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) for advice and clarification on the gratuity and pension to be paid to him.
Five years later, the CPO advised that the ministry should remit the issue to the Office of the President based on the provisions of the Pensions Act.
Under section 9(2) of the legislation, the President is empowered to reduce or withhold the pension and gratuity of a public officer in circumstances where they (the officer) is guilty of negligence, irregularity or misconduct.
Davis’ husband eventually passed away in September 2015.
Almost five years later, the ministry wrote to the Office of the President seeking clarification. It sent another letter in 2022 after it did not receive a response to its first correspondence. The second letter also remained unanswered.
Davis, acting on behalf of her husband’s estate, filed the case over the delays in resolving the issue.
In upholding the case, Justice Seepersad noted that the ministry was required to compute retirement benefits three months before a public officer was due to retire.
“On the evidence adduced, the computation exercise commenced nearly four years after the deceased voluntarily retired and thereafter further unexplained delays occurred,” he said.
“The laissez-faire approach and inefficiency which this matter has revealed is alarming,” he added.
Justice Seepersad also pointed out that the President’s jurisdiction could not have been invoked in the case as the disciplinary proceedings against him were discontinued upon his voluntary retirement.
“The said advice advanced recommendations which were devoid of common sense and frankly, illogical,” he said.
Despite his findings on the issue, Justice Seepersad expressed concern over the failure of the Office of the President to respond to the two requests.
“This apparent failure by two Presidents, over a four year period, to discharge a statutory obligation and to respond to the request made pursuant to section 9 of the Pensions Act (although the requests were unnecessary), is most unfortunate, difficult to comprehend and is cause for concern,” he said.
“It may be that the Office lacks the required degree of administrative support but the circumscribed yet critical constitutional and statutory obligations which vest in the President must be discharged with speed and sagacity,” he added.
Justice Seepersad ruled that Davis’ estate was deprived of enjoyment of his property without due process of law contrary to section 4(a) of the Constitution.
As part of his ruling in the case, Justice Seepersad ordered the State to pay $15,000 in vindicatory damages over what transpired.
“The course which was adopted cannot be tolerated as it does not accord with the need for good administration,” Justice Seepersad said.
The ministry was given 28 days in which to verify and pay the quantum of outstanding gratuity and pension owed to his estate.
The State was also ordered to pay Davis’ legal costs for bringing the lawsuit.
Davis was represented by Arden Williams and Mariah Ramrattan. The State was represented by Nairob Smart and Mary Davis.