Former Speaks on Caroni Land Distribution .

From : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hxz4bG9Xgk

Former sugar workers give PM deadline to respond

By LAUREL V WILLIAMS Saturday, December 19 2009

http://www.newsday.co.tt/politics/0,112832.html 

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning has been given seven days to respond to a letter about concerns faced by former sugar workers of the now defunct Caroni (1975) Ltd.

This deadline was given Thursday night during a cottage meeting at the Esperanza Presbyterian Primary School, Dow Village California, by UNC Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

In fact, Maharaj threatened that if Manning fails to respond within the stipulated time, legal action will follow.

The four-page letter, which was addressed to Prime Minister Manning and dated December 17, 2009, sought redress for the former sugar workers with regards to the terms and condition of the Voluntary Separation of Employment Packages (VSEP) agreement.

Maharaj, who is running for the post of Political leader in the upcoming UNC internal election come January 24, signed the letter under the capacity as president of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association.

In the letter Maharaj reminded Manning of a High Court Action whereby Justice Lennox Deyalsingh declared the entitlement of former sugar workers to have residential and agricultural plots of land with all proper infrastructure.

Reading the letter to the small, but vibrant crowd Maharaj added that with regard to the leasehold interest for 199 years of the workers entitled lot of land, the government has requested that they pay a deposit of $3,000.

Ramesh to challenge state on $30,000 VSEP lot fees

Ariti Jankie South Bureau

Friday, December 18th 2009

ALL THE WAY: A supporter makes a contribution to Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj's campaign for the UNC Leadership, as he delivers a speech at meeting on Wednesday night in Tarouba. -Photo: DAVE PERSAD Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj intends filing legal action on behalf of former Caroni Ltd workers, so the $30,000 fee they paid for building lots given as part of their Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) will be repaid. Maharaj said the VSEP accepted by former Caroni workers gave priority access to two acres of agricultural lands and a residential lot. ’At no place in any of the documents was there any mention of sugar workers paying a price for the land,’ he said at a public meeting in Tarouba on Wednesday night. Maharaj took credit for forcing Government to give agricultural and residential lands to the ex-workers. His Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association filed a lawsuit in 2007, complaining that Government seemed to have reneged on its promise to give the ex-workers priority access to the lands. In his judgment, Justice Lennox Deyalsingh ordered Government to deliver on its promise to distribute leases to the land by June 2008. On Wednesday night, Maharaj said Government was asking ex-workers to pay $30,000 or lose their right to the land. ’I am advising sugar workers to pay their monies without prejudice to their rights and I would file a public interest litigation on their behalf to get back the monies plus interest and also get a monetary compensation for the loss they have suffered,’ he said. So far, only 545 leases have been distributed for two-acre agricultural plots that carry a rental fee of $400 annually. In addition, 1,500 Letters of Offer were handed out at the Caroni Land Distribution Office, Brechin Castle, Couva, in which ex-workers were asked to pay the sum of $20,000 to $30,000 within 90 days.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/print?id=161571587

 

Ramesh Takes Plight of the Ex-Caroni Workers

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/general/2009/11/16/ramesh-takes-plight-ex-caroni-workers

Mon, 2009-11-16 00:08 — Black_Jacobin
Byline Author:
Radhica Sookraj

Article Date:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Hundreds of former Caroni Ltd workers and cane farmers have teamed up with Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to fight for pension, land and European Union financial aid.

Hundreds of former Caroni Ltd workers and cane farmers have teamed up with Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to fight for pension, land and European Union financial aid.

Just after noon yesterday, Maharaj met with the workers at Brickfield Junction, Orange Valley and Apoo Village, Couva, to mobilise support for planned action scheduled for December 10. Maharaj said since the closure of Caroni in 2003, more than 9,000 sugar cane workers had been suffering enormous social and economic hardships.

He said the European Union had made $354 million available to cane farmers and former workers, but the Government has not filtered down any programme to alleviate the social upheaval. Maharaj on December 10, massive protests would be held to highlight the plight of the workers. He said workers would march from Couva to Port-of-Spain, following which litigation would be filed on behalf of the workers.

Ramesh Consults Former Caroni Workers

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/general/2009/11/15/ramesh-consults-former-caroni-workers


Sun, 2009-11-15 01:25 — Anonymous

Article Date: Monday, November 16, 2009

Former Attorney General and MP for Tabaquite Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj will be holding a series of special meetings with former workers and clients of Caroni (1975) Ltd today 2009

Former Attorney General and MP for Tabaquite Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj will be holding a series of special meetings with former workers and clients of Caroni (1975) Ltd today 2009 at the following venues:

• Loch Bar, Brickfield Village at 1 pm; 
• Bay Road Junction, Orange Valley at 2 pm, and 
• Ram Bolo’s residence, Orchid Drive, Apoo Avenue at 3pm.

The Issues to be discussed include: Government’s failure to distribute Caroni land to the former sugar workers; ADB/UTC Sweetener; tenancies on Caroni Lands, and broken VSEP promises. Mr Maharaj’s team departs the UNC Couva North Management Committee Office, Jerry Junction, Waterloo, promptly at 12.30 pm.

Appeal Court reserves judgment

By ONIKA JAMES Friday, July 17 2009

http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,103919.html 

An Appeal court panel has reserved its judgment in the matter of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association and the Cabinet.

Having heard submissions from the association’s attorney, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and Reginald Armour SC, who is representing the Cabinet, the panel, which comprised of Chief Justice Ivor Archie, and Appeal Judges Peter Jamadar, and Nolan Bereaux, announced that they will rule on the matter by, or before the month of October. The matter stemmed from a 2007, judgment in which High Court Judge, Justice Lennox Deyalsingh declared that, the promise made by the Patrick Manning Government to give sugar workers leases for agricultural lands was enforceable in law. Deyalsingh ordered the Cabinet to grant the leases. The Government appealed the matter on the grounds that Deyalsingh had an apparent bias in the matter, in that prior to being a temporary judge in 2006, he wrote several articles in the newspapers, in which he criticised the Government.

In March 2007, an Appeal Court panel blanked a judicial review which sought to force Justice Deyalsingh to deal with an application to disqualify himself from the Caroni workers judicial review case which was filed in the Court of Appeal.

However, Senior Counsel Maharaj, responded yesterday and said, before Deyalsingh became a judge, he was entitled to criticise the Government and the law, and that the history of the judge or, his political association cannot be a ground of bias. Maharaj, further said, if that was so then, many judges in the Caribbean would not be able to function.

Deyalsingh was fearless

Caroni Lands Appeal

Deyalsingh was fearless—Ramesh

Francis Joseph

Published: 17 Jul 2009

Francis Joseph

Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj submitted yesterday that retired High Court judge, Lennox Deyalsingh, was independent and fearless. Addressing the Court of Appeal in the appeal brought by Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his Cabinet, Maharaj said nothing which was said or written by Deyalsingh could constitute apparent bias.

On Wednesday, Manning's attorney, Reginald Armour, SC, asked the Court of Appeal to quash the decision made by Deyalsingh and send it back for retrial before another judge. He claimed that there was the possibility of apparent bias in four articles and a letter written to the media by the former judge. The Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Ivor Archie, Justice Peter Jamadar and Justice Nolan Bereaux, reserved judgment to October. On December 7, 2007, Deyalsingh, presiding in the Port-of-Spain High Court, ordered the Government to grant leases to ex-Caroni (1975) Ltd workers for lands which were promised to them more than six years ago.

The judge set a deadline of June 30, 2008, for the two-acre agricultural plots to be leased to 7,900 displaced workers and ordered that "proper infrastructure, including access, drainage and irrigation facilities," be attached to each plot. Maharaj said there was no merit in the application brought by the Prime Minister. He said four of the articles were written by the judge when he was in retirement. He said those articles were critical of the Government during the period of time that the articles were written. "The contents of the articles, however, clearly showed that the criticisms made by the judge were not directed or related to any of the issues or matters which he had to determine in the Caroni case," Maharaj said. "It must be shown that the criticisms in question were made in respect of issues which the judge determined or which he had to determine."

He said judges were expected and trained to be able to judge on the facts and the law relevant to issues before them and to be aware of the possible influence of their personal views. "In Trinidad and Tobago, former politicians have been appointed to the bench…They were expected to set aside their political affiliations on appointment and were confidently expected to rule without partiality in cases involving the State," Maharaj said. In the present case, he said, Deyalsingh was reappointed to the Bench after the four articles were written. He said this was a clear inference that his articles were not a concern to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission. As to the letter which was published on July 17, 2006, Maharaj said this was written during extraordinary times. He said this was the time when an attempt was made to arrest then Chief Justice Sat Sharma.

"A fair-minded observer would have welcomed this fearless comment from a judge," Maharaj said. "There was no link between the contents of that letter and the Caroni matter before the court. "If the judge had criticised the Government for their brazen breaches in the Caroni matter, and then come and sit on the case, allegations could have been made."

http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2009/07/17/deyalsingh-was-fearless-ramesh

 

Caroni ex-workers to get pension

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/general/2009/05/15/caroni-ex-workers-get-pension



Minister of Finance, Karen Tesheira, right, signs a pension agreement on behalf of her Ministry, watched by Caroni (1975) chairman, Jerry Hospedales, left, and attorney Dennis Gurley. PHOTO: KARLA RAM00

The Finance Ministry and Caroni 1975 Ltd yesterday signed legal documents to ensure the payment of pension benefits to over 9,000 ex-workers of Caroni (1975). The benefits were promised to daily-paid ex-workers six years ago, as part of their Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) and to certain monthly-paid workers. It was also part of the Consent Order issued by the Industrial Court in July 2003.

The Finance Ministry and Caroni 1975 Ltd yesterday signed legal documents to ensure the payment of pension benefits to over 9,000 ex-workers of Caroni (1975). The benefits were promised to daily-paid ex-workers six years ago, as part of their Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) and to certain monthly-paid workers. It was also part of the Consent Order issued by the Industrial Court in July 2003.

The workers were given VSEP after the closure of the company in 2003, after 30 years in operation. But according to Caroni (1975) chairman Jerry Hospedales, the process of meeting the pension commitments was long and arduous and required substantial technical and administrative work. “There were many hurdles, in particular, the need to establish a credible pension-eligible database from the unreliable and fragmented records at Caroni and to codify those institutional pension practices which prevailed,” Hospedales said.

He pointed out that on June 14, 2007, Colonial Life Insurance Company (Clico) was selected as the annuity provider through a tendering process involving five other insurance companies. He said from June 1, trustee Republic Bank Limited - Trust and Asset Management Division, would begin to purchase immediate and deferred annuities for pension-eligible daily-paid workers, from insurer Colonial Life Insurance Company. However, he noted that all payments under the annuities would have an effect from July, 2008.

He said unverifiable claims would be placed in a reserve fund, which would be held by Republic Bank for seven years, during which any legitimate claims by potential beneficiaries would be honoured. He added that over the next two weeks, information on annuity purchases would be provided to beneficiaries. This new pension agreement means that a pension-eligible former employee of Caroni who qualifies for the Senior Citizens Grant could receive $2,800 monthly—Caroni pension of $650, NIS pension of $2,000 and Senior citizens grant of $150.