Worker takes bank to court

ONE OF NINE workers who has not received a promised promotion at the Central Bank of Barbados has taken the matter to the High Court.The employee in the supervision department is calling on the court to order that the bank put his promotion as a senior examiner into immediate effect.The employee who joined the financial institution in 2001 is also claiming compensation for the bank’s failure to promote him and eight other members of staff.Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell is accused of informing the employees of their promotions but later reneging on the commitment.Attorney-at-law, Ralph Thorne QC, told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday that the bank had acted arbitrarily “and with a contemptuous regard for the rights of the workers”.“We feel that the relevant persons should be called upon to explain the bank’s conduct before a court of law,” he added.Among the court documents is a copy of a letter signed by the bank’s acting deputy director Cheryl Greenidge confirming the promotions.However, in subsequent correspondence to the bank employees, the bank’s governor apologised for what he described as the fault of management.“The reason I want to chat with you personally is that, in view of all that has happened, I am determined to take a personal interest in the careers of the nine of you going forward . . . .“In all your cases, we have failed to do this, and we have caused you injury. It is not your fault; it is our fault as management. I therefore owe you, each one more than a simple apology,” the correspondence stated.Worrell, in another letter to the bank’s  entire staff, also made reference to the promotions but said the bank could not confirm the appointments “in the best interest of the organisation as a whole”.