Elections for the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) are now in limbo, as Justice Cecil McCarthy granted an injunction brought by suspended president Akanni McDowall.
Around 9:30 p.m., McCarthy granted the plaintiff’s request for a postponement of the elections pending the outcome of the hearing, which is slated to continue next Thursday.
In the interim, it is unclear if McDowall’s suspension remains in effect in the wake of this decision by the court.
The closed virtual hearing got underway at 10 a.m., and Nation News was reliably informed by sources present, that McDowall, who was represented by attorney-at-law, Senator Kevin Boyce, submitted a case for the quashing of his suspension and the postponement of today’s union election by two weeks, to contest a third term in office. The NUPW was represented by Larry Smith QC.
By 3 p.m., the final submissions were made and the judge retired to ponder the facts and render his verdict later.
Immediately after the decision was handed down, McDowall expressed some measure of satisfaction with the outcome thus far.
“I am hopeful that this outcome brings the membership one step closer to being able to exercise their right to vote for whomsoever they wish,” he said.
Acting General Secretary Wayne Walrond could not be reached for comment.
With the first box originally scheduled to be opened to receive ballots at 5 a.m. Thursday, NUPW presidential candidate Kimberley Agard said she was disappointed with the postponement, noting that the entire fiasco was taking a toll on the membership.
“Of course we are disappointed but we will wait and see what transpires in the coming days and I am still keeping faith that things will go as they should. This situation has definitely dealt a serious blow to the union over the past couple of weeks. In canvassing, the members have told me that they are tired of the chaos and the confusion. So it definitely has done some damage,” said Agard.
Before the Judge’s decision was disclosed, her opponent Fabian Jones made it clear that he was not prepared to let the court proceedings derail his campaign.
“It has put a damper on the election process but the fact remains that until we hear otherwise from the courts, the election is on and I have to operate as such. It is concerning, but as I said, we have to operate to the plan until we are told otherwise,” he said.
According to an earlier legal letter from the law firm Clarke Gittens Farmer which was hand delivered to the NUPW – a copy of which was obtained by this newspaper – the memo which was sent to McDowall on June 23, suspending him from the trade union, was “in breach of the rules and the laws of natural justice as our client was never given any, much less proper, opportunity to be heard by the National Council or of meeting the charges brought against him. In the circumstances, we have advised our client that the decision is null and void”.
Continuing, the letter called not only for McDowall’s reinstatement but also for the elections to be delayed by two weeks to give him the opportunity to prepare.
McDowall was suspended pending investigations into the charge that on June 2 to June 17, he encouraged and promoted a resolution which sought to install him as secretary general of the organisation for four years, contrary to Rule 10(a)(1), Rule 10(a)(iv) and Rule 12 (a)(i).
He is also accused of entering the NUPW secretariat around 3:15 p.m. on June 16 and taking a photograph of a cheque dated June 17, 2021, payable to Larry Smith QC for legal services.
Last Saturday, Walrond, made it clear that the union was not acceding to the embattled president’s demand, through his attorney, to delay the union’s elections by two weeks. He was adamant that the matter of the July 15 election date was not up for “negotiation,” signalling that the union had no intention of bowing to McDowall’s legal threat.
“There is no reason why we won’t go ahead with the elections, the election date is set and there is no discussion about changing anything. The facts that have been advertised about the election still stands. We don’t have to report to anybody, the election date is a National Council decision, it is not anything that is up for negotiation. According to the rules of the NUPW, the National Council has full responsibility for this full stop, and it is not to be negotiated with anybody,” Walrond said at the time. (CLM)
