List of Departments

The administrative staff comprise public officers and contract officers. Public officers are all appointed by the Public Service Commission with the exception of the Registrar and Assistant Registrar who are Attorneys, and must be appointed by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

For administrative purposes, the Court is divided into various Departments. They are:

Role of Accounting Unit

The Accounting Unit is a section which maintains the proper system of accounting as prescribed by the Treasury (Ministry of Finance).

This system covers the passing of vouchers for payments,
Accounts for any service in respect by which moneys have been appropriated by the Constitution or by the Parliament or any person to whom issues are made from the Exchequer Accounts as it relates to specific Ministry or Department.

Function of Accounting Unit

Facilitate the management of the Industrial Court's accounting and financial affairs through the processing of payments, recording of transactions and the issuance of financial reports to the Registrar, Comptroller of Accounts, Ministry of Finance and Auditor General.

The Accounting Department is divided into two parts:

A sub-accounting unit where the placing of orders is undertaken and where payment vouchers are prepared, voted and certified.
A main accounting unit where vouchers are passed by its own check staff and vote control for cheque preparation and reconciliation.

The Corporate Communications Department is responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation of the communication strategies and programmes that support the strategic goals and objectives of the Industrial Court. The Department's services include:

Internal and External Communications
Event Management
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Media Relations
Advertising
Protocol

iii. Court Registry

The Court Reporting Department (CRD) is responsible for the production of verbatim court transcripts. The department is comprised of Verbatim Reporters and Computer Aided Transcription (CAT) Reporters. A Verbatim Reporter II is in charge of the Verbatim Reporters and a Senior CAT Reporter is in charge of the CAT Reporters. Court reporting is a specialized field and the Court Reporters are professionals who are considered the “guardian of the records”.

The modes of transcription are manual computer transcription with the aid of For the Record (FTR) Software, Computer Aided Transcript using the Eclipse Software and Real-time using Eclipse Software for instantaneous transcription.

The CRD plays a pivotal role in the delivery of timely judgments, since the judges rely on court transcripts for completion of judgments. This section also provides court transcripts to representatives of parties involved in matters before the court, as well as to the Court of Appeal when matters are appealed.

All enquiries with respect to court transcripts (also known as notes of proceedings) must be directed to the Registry Department.

The Human Resource Management Unit consists of a Senior Human Resource Officer, Human Resource Officer III, Clerk III, Clerk I, Clerk Typist I and two Short Term Contract Officers.

The core function is to maximize the output of the Court's Human Resources and to create an environment whereby the Organization and Individual goals and objective can be achieved.

The following fall under the purview of the Human Resource Department.

Recruitment and staffing;
Delegated and Devolved functions in accordance with Section 127 of the Constitution;
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP);
Induction and Orientation;
Training and development;
Performance Management and Appraisal System; and
Employee and Industrial Relations

vi. Information Technology

The Internal Audit Unit of the Industrial Court provides assurance to the Accounting Officer that all systems operating within the Court are effective. This unit is independent and helps the organization to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

The Internal Audit provides auditing services not only the Industrial Court but also to the Tax Appeal Board, the Environmental Commission, the Equal Opportunity Tribunal and the Public Service Appeal Board.

The Legal Department aims to be the foremost reference point at the Industrial Court for accessing legal advice and information on industrial relations and related matters.

The core objectives of the department are:

To provide timely and quality legal advice and opinions to the President, Vice President, Judges and other senior officials of the Industrial Court
To assist the legal departments of public entities in Trinidad and Tobago in the dispensation of social justice in industrial relations matters
To advance the development of the legal aspects of industrial relations by providing critical analysis and assessment on related matters as required by officials of the Court
To develop and maintain a current repository of legal opinions and other legal documents in industrial relations

ix. Library

Annual Schedule of Planned Procurement Activities for Fiscal 2023 - 2024

The Office of Economic and Industrial Research (OEIR) which was established by Section 82 (1) of the Industrial Relations (IR) Act Chapter 88:01, is responsible for the production of all economic, labour and industrial research material and statistics in the Industrial Court. The Department plays a critical role in supporting the Court in the furtherance of its stated purpose - “to better provide for the stabilisation, improvement and promotion of industrial relations in Trinidad and Tobago.”

Section 82 (2) of the IR Act delineates the ambit of the functions of the OEIR as follows:

“To collect and compile in accordance with directions of the Court, information which may be of assistance to the Court in the exercise of its powers and functions under this Act;
To keep information as collected and compiled up to date; and
To carry out research in respect of such matters as the Court may direct.

Information collected and compiled and the results of research carried out, under this section shall be furnished to any person, trade union or other organisation desiring to obtain that information or those results.”

The scope of the work of the OEIR includes the following:-

Publications:

Research Notes by order of the Court, arising from a breakdown in negotiations between union and management
An Annual Bulletin on Trends in Labour and Industrial Relations, which analyses industrial relations trends juxtaposed with data on the domestic economic landscape and the labour market
An Analysis of Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) Extracted from Collective Agreements registered for the year. These reports present the average monthly COLA by sub-sector negotiated on behalf of employees, identifying trends from a comparative analysis of COLA for consecutive years
An Analysis of Wages and Salaries Extracted from Collective Agreements Registered for the year. This report conveys the findings of analyses of data and trends in wage settlements negotiated through the collective bargaining process, across sub-sectors.
Research Papers on relevant issues in an economic, labour and industrial context.

Other Functions:

Analyse Collective Agreements received by the Court for registration, with a view to determining conformity with Industrial Relations legislation.
Compile, analyse and present statistical data for Court publications
Research and develop reports based on Ad hoc requests.
Make presentations to stakeholder groups.
Develop database as a collaborative effort.

The Pension and Leave Department has responsibility for the preparation and collation of work history data for all Judges and established members of staff, both past and present, in accordance with the Pension Extension Act 34 of 1961 and Pensions and Gratuities of Member Regulation. Once the information is collated and prepared it is then forwarded to the Pensions Division of the Ministry of Finance and the Economy for processing of pensions and gratuity benefits.