Fired Gaming Board staff return to court

Fired Gaming Board staff return to court
Wayne Munroe, QC.

Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles has approved an application by 30 former Gaming Board employees, who were fired last year, to have a trial date set to determine whether they should be reinstated.

Wayne Munroe QC, who represents the group, reported to Eyewitness News that the Judge determined an injunction was not necessary and that damages would be sufficient.

If reinstated, Munroe said, the group will have to be paid their salaries for the time lost.

The group had also attempted to sue the government agency for what Munroe said is “wrongful dismissal”.

According to court documents, on December 22, 2017, the Gaming Board, its “servants and/or agents” dismissed the 30 plaintiffs from the agency via termination letters dated November 1, 2017 to December 13, 2017, purportedly on the grounds of redundancy.

Munroe however, challenged this position stating that the gaming board has “failed and/or refused” to comply with the procedures required by Section 26A of the Employment Act, 2001, as well as Articles 25, 36 and 40 of the collective bargaining agreement between the Gaming Board and the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU), dated January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015.

At the time of the terminations Chairman of the Gaming Board Kenyatta Gibson said, the terminations were as a result of a manpower audit. A trial date has been set for August 28 and 29.

About Genea Noel

Genea Noel is the news director and weeknight TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. She began working at Eyewitness News in 2018 as the newsroom editor and was subsequently promoted during her tenure. As a household name who graces the screens of thousands of Bahamian homes each night, Genea has racked up an impressive five Bahamas Press Club awards, including “The Cyril Stevenson Award for Outstanding Political Journalism” (2020), “Best Studio Live Producer” (2020) and “Best Newscast” (2018).