Deborah Thomas-Felix has been re-appointed as president of the Industrial Court, effective December 13. In justifying her appointment for a second term, The Office of the President in its statement yesterday said Thomas-Felix had a record of achievements as president of the court since December 13, 2011. Some of her achievements include handling backlog cases, presentation of annual reports and the convening of court in Tobago.
But in late November, the Joint Trade Unions Movement (JTUM) warned of an attack on the independence of the court following the November 19 ruling by Thomas-Felix in favour of 68 National Petroleum workers. The workers were dismissed in October 2013 for “illegal work stoppages and illegal industrial action.”
Ancel Roget, JTUM head, suggested that there was interference by the management of National Petroleum through a letter he alleged was written by the company to the President about the non re-appointment of Thomas-Felix. Roget also said JTUM respected the judgments handed down by the Industrial Court. Thomas-Felix’s appointment was made by the President after consultation with the Chief justice in accordance with section 4 (3) of the Industrial Relations Act.
The statement said Thomas-felix also had made significant changes to operations of the court.
It added: “The current tenure of Thomas-Felix has been further marked by leading efforts to improve the Industrial Court’s programme, integrity and efficiency, including areas of Information technology ,modernisation and system reporting, stakeholder engagements and accountability, effective and proven utilisation of conciliation in cases before the court, reform of the Industrial Court’s case management conference and ongoing judicial and administrative training for judges and staff respectively.”
Regarding her qualifications, the statement said: “Her impressive academic qualifications are complemented by her many pioneering accomplishments, ranging from being the first female deputy chief magistrate of T&T to attain the posts of first president of the Family Court of St Vincent and the Grenadines, first female chairman of T&T Securities and Exchange Commission and first female president of the Industrial Court.”
About Thomas-Felix
• Fulbright scholar.
• Holder of a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.
• Certificate of Legal Education (LEC).
• Masters of Law degree (LLM), in International legal studies.
• Executive Masters In Business Administration (EMBA).
