IRIE FM to seek judicial review of COVID pay cut ruling

Grove Broadcasting Company Limited (IRIE FM) on Tuesday slammed the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT), claiming that its ruling for the radio station to reimburse dozens of employees for a 2020 salary cut was merely to appease the Government.

IRIE FM is expected to pay back millions of dollars in refund to more than 60 employees whose salaries were cut by 40 per cent to 70 per cent.

The Sadeera Shaw-chaired IDT, in an 18-page ruling, said IRIE FM’s unilateral decision to implement salary cuts on employees “was not in keeping with good industrial relations practices and contravened the provisions of the Labour Relations Code”.

Further, the Tribunal ruled that employees affected by the salary cuts, which occurred between April and September 2020, are to be paid the difference in their salaries for the said period.

But IRIE FM’s industrial relations consultant, Howard Duncan, called the decision “foolish”, arguing that then Labour Minister Karl Samuda’s decision to refer the matter to the IDT was wrong.

Added to that, he said both the company and the National Workers Union (NWU), which brought the claim on behalf of employees, had not settled on the terms of reference that were set by the labour ministry though the hearing was allowed to start.

Duncan said the company will be seeking a judicial review of the matter in the Supreme Court.

REPORT A DISPUTE

He said for a matter to be sent to the tribunal, the workers, through the union, must report a dispute.

He insisted that no dispute was reported to the labour ministry.

Duncan said the minister’s referral was challenged but he did not respond to the company.

He asserted that Samuda’s position is ultra vires because he had no jurisdiction to refer the matter.

“In my view, the Tribunal is appeasing the minister. I’ve been noticing in recent times that the Tribunal has been making some bad decisions,” he claimed.

“We’re going to take it to the Supreme Court. We were very clear to the Tribunal that if you make that decision to appease the minister it is going before the Supreme Court for judicial review.

“Not only has a point of law been breached by the Tribunal, it is also ultra vires and it is also a foolish award,” he added.

IRIE FM, in March 2020, informed employees of its intention to implement mass layoffs due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company informed the union that it needed to shave off $3.6 million of salary budget because of downturn from the pandemic.

IRIE FM Managing Director (MD) Debbian Dewar further told the Tribunal that the radio station’s bookings fell by 80 per cent -90 per cent and that advertising was its main income.

Dewar said that, before the pandemic, the company’s wage bill was at least $17 million.

She testified that during peak season the company’s revenue stood between $40 million to $45 million and in the low season it fell $20 million.

The MD said that the station’s average monthly expense runs in excess of $30 million and that cancellation saw the company earning only $4 to $5 million.

She said a meeting held with the union for the way forward did not yield fruitful results.

IRIE FM subsequently announced in March that it would lay off staff and cut salaries.

The workers, in response, took industrial action on March 31.

A meeting between the radio station and the NWU resulted in an agreement for employees to resume work on April 1 and for the company to withdraw the layoff letters.

It was also agreed that both parties would have further discussions to address the issues they faced.

On April 20, IRIE FM announced its decision to lay off a number of staff as well as to reduce the salaries of the remaining staff complement.

The Tribunal was told that 27 layoff letters were issued to staff, including to chief delegate and manager of the sports department, Robert Williams.

A total of 90 employees were affected by the layoffs and salary cuts.

The NWU as a result requested copies of the company financials and the positions being considered for layoff. It said none was provided but IRIE FM said this was done albeit late.

The union then submitted a proposal on how the company could save $8 million without the layoffs.

The proposal outlined a 20 per cent cut for line staff and 50 per cent for managers, consultant fees and sales representatives’ base pay.

However, the company noted that the union’s calculation was wrong and subsequently the announced the staff and salary cuts.

The NWU sought the assistance and intervention of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to contest the company’s decision but no resolution was reached.

The dispute was referred to the IDT for determination and settlement.

“This must be a warning to any other management who believes that the bilateral arrangement can be interfered with without any discussion. It can’t work. They must show more respect to the working-class people,” NWU’s General Secretary Granville Valentine told The Gleaner.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com