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Tuesday 5 April 2011

T&T Employment Discrimination (Part 1)

Despite living in London, I have decided to do my Employment Law Masters dissertation on Employment Discrimination in Trinidad and Tobago because the majority of people in T&T have no clue about their rights in regards to employment practices. The aim is to educate citizens and encourage the government to enforce policies to allow our heterogeneous society to be reflected in both the public and private sectors.

Coincidentally, while researching and doing my proposal, Nizam Mohammed, the recently fired Police Service Chairman made a comment that there are too many Africans in the Police Service. Without getting into politics and detail, the comment lacked a historical perspective, but at the same time is true. This same imbalance in the TTPS can be seen in reverse in the medical field and on copious state boards. To me, the stark irony of Nizam's comment was that he, as the Chairman of the Police Service, was NOT of African descent.

Due to the amount of information to impart, I will have to spread this over the next few weeks, today starting with the characteristics that can precipitate discrimination. It is illegal to discriminate based on the following characteristics:

(a) the sex - does not include sexual preference or orientation

(b) race - a group of persons of common ethnic origin, colour or of mixed race

(c) ethnicity;

(d) origin, including geographical origin;

(e) religion;

(f) marital status; or

(g) Disability - includes:

• total or partial loss of a bodily function;

• total or partial loss of a part of the body;

• malfunction of a part of the body including a mental or psychological disease or disorder; or

• malformation or disfigurement of part of the body

4 comments:

  1. hi i am being removed from certain duties and access to training and promotions that I was supposed to be getting in the future as my immediate boss had planned. the higher bosses have removed me from the above because they say i am complaining too much about the cold temperature in the new buildings which has been having detrimental effects on my health.

    what recourse do i have?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You need to write a letter asking for an explanation. You can't do anything if you don't have this in writing because it will be one person's word against the other.

      Delete
  2. Good day, i and also fellow co- workers work at a private commercial firm, of lately the wife of the person in charge of this Firm was brought in by Him,to assume the position of H R for which she is not qualified in.
    She has implemented rules where by for e.g. one does not have any casual leave,if you are late or absent you would have to full out a Form stating the reason why or you would not be paid.
    I in particular was absent for two( 2) days because of illness and did fill out one of the Forms only to be handed a letter of warning a few days later for my intolerable behaviour and absence, when in fact i amongst others have not met or known this woman nor was She introduced to the staff but it would seem she knows everything about us and most of our Rights are being taken away. I am a Single Father of two children of which I am raising alone, Please help us out,...thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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