Headlines:
| Case against Ranger Security Company begins |
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| Friday, 18 July 2008 | |
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Ranger Security Company and its Senior Director
Mark Mahfood went on trial Thursday for alleged breaches of the Labour Relations
and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA).
Mr. Mahfood and his company found themselves in trouble
with the authorities in 2003 when they allegedly refused to submit a list of
the security guards they employed. President of the National Workers Union (NWU) Vincent Morrison was the first witness called by government prosecutors. The prosecutors said Mr. Mahfood and his company breached the law when they failed to submit information on the security guards employed to the company as required under the LRIDA. Following a complaint from the NWU which was seeking to represent the guards, the Ministry of Labour wrote to Ranger Security in December 2003 requesting the information. The company, however, again refused, claiming that the men were "Security Contractors" and not "Workers". A statement from an official of the Ministry stated that Ranger Security accused the Ministry of Labour of being anti-employer during the long standing impasse. In his testimony, Mr. Morrison said the NWU was forced to write to the Ministry when Ranger Security refused the union's request to hold a representational rights poll for the guards. He said the guards had sought to contract the services of the union, but the company effectively blocked that effort. Ranger Security has denied the allegations and maintained that the workers are contractors. The trial continues on July 28th in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court. |