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Nandlall again vows to appeal GTU dues deduction case
Kaieteur News-Weeks after President Irfaan Ali had stopped him from appealing a court case, Attorney General Anil Nandlall is back at it again, this time promising that the government will be appealing the ruling made by Appeal Court Justice Dawn Gregory where she refused the State’s application to stay a High Court order which mandated them to continue deductions and remittance of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) dues.
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall
The State had made an application to stay Justice Sandil Kissoon’s order which mandated the continuation of deductions of union dues and their remittance to the GTU. On Tuesday, Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory highlighted that the GTU would suffer undue prejudice if the stay was granted, stating that the balance of justice lies in favour of the Union.
In response to the decision, the Attorney General told viewers of his programme ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday night that the Guyana Government will be appealing the decision. Noting that the GTU is the only union that enjoys this arrangement, Nandlall argued that the Government is not obligated to do so by virtue of the precedence that was set in a previous case involving the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).
“The Government is now being saddled with a responsibility and a duty now in law to collect Union dues and pay it over to the union from members of the union that is the union’s business. How can you compel a government to do that and I thought that the law was clear, since this matter was earlier settled in the Nanda Gopaul case.” Nandlall said
He continued “You can’t compel me to do you a favour unless the law creates an obligation… The act that you’re compelling must have legal underpinning. There must be some duty created in law before a court of law can compel the performance of that duty. The government is now being saddled with a responsibility and a duty now, in law, to collect union dues and pay it over to the union from the members of the union. That’s the union’s business.”
Just recently President Irfaan Ali stopped Nandlall from appealing a court award of $24M for the slaying of Quindon Bacchus by a policeman over two years ago. Nandlall had argued that the court’s decision, which was handed down by Justice Nigel Niles, was flawed and that the government would be appealing it. However, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at a press conference said that once the President got wind of the plan, he asked the AG to stop. “The President was made aware of the ongoing efforts by the Attorney General’s Chambers and instructed that the appeal should not proceed. Instead, the compensation must be paid,” Jagdeo told reporters.
(Nandlall again vows to appeal GTU dues deduction case)
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