DEREK ACHONG
A former Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) employee has been ordered to repay a little over $326,353.22 to the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU).
CWU reportedly paid Anika Gaspard’s $15,000 salary for almost two years while it was pursuing a case on her behalf against TSTT in the Industrial Court.
The union claimed the payments were made to alleviate her hardship and based on the agreement that it was a loan that had to be repaid if she was eventually successful in the case and awarded compensation.
The union, through its lawyer Martin George, sued Gaspard, of Mootoo Lands, Arima, after she won the case and received $321,213.26 in compensation but did not repay it.
In late September, High Court Karen Reid granted the union a default judgment after Gaspard failed to respond to the lawsuit, which was served via a series of advertisements in a daily newspaper.
Gaspard, through her lawyers, subsequently sought to set aside the decision.
They claimed that their client did not owe CWU as there was no binding contract between them.
During a hearing, yesterday, Justice Reid dismissed Gaspard’s application.
She also ordered that Gaspard pay the union an additional $12,000, which represents its legal costs for the lawsuit.
Guardian Media understands that CWU’s general secretary Joanne Ogeer was present in court for the outcome.