Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday made good on a promise by Labour Minister Errol McLeod to release details of an accident allegedly caused by Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union president general Ancel Roget, while he was employed as a foreman at Trinmar in 1999. Persad-Bissessar released the information during her contribution to yesterday’s House of Representatives debate on new procurement legislation. The bill was passed. McLeod was sitting next to Persad-Bissessar as she spoke.
She told legislators that an internal audit report by the law firm, Boynes and Company, revealed that on September 19, 1999, while working at a Trinmar platform, Roget caused injuries to the right ankle and foot of fellow employee Irwin Toolsie and tried to conceal it. She said the report said Roget exhibited gross carelessness and negligence in the execution of his duties which could have resulted in Toolsie’s death.
The PM said the audit report said Roget violated commonly accepted safe working practices and failed to report the accident to his supervisor. Persad-Bissessar said it also claimed Roget gave false testimony in connection with the investigation. She told legislators Roget “attempted to bribe the injured employee to keep his mouth shut and he offered him $300.”
The Prime Minister said the report recommended that Roget should be summarily dismissed on the grounds of negligence, failure to follow company procedure and giving misleading and false information to the investigative committee. But Opposition MP Amery Browne said he was disappointed by Persad-Bissessar using the Parliament to “blacken” Roget who was leading a march against “korruption” in Port-of-Spain yesterday.
Browne said the spelling of the word with a “K” had implications for the Government. He said the “damning” report presented by the Prime Minister was done in Roget’s absence and consequently he was unable to defend himself in the chamber. In addition, he said, Persad-Bissessar read old reports to build her case.
All those documents, he said, were available to Persad-Bissessar in 2010 “when she marched arm-in-arm with the same trade union leader when he was supportive of the partnership that they were trying to assemble.” Browne said Roget was held up and celebrated when he and the Movement for Social Justice were part of the People’s Partnership Government led by Persad-Bissessar.
