He claimed he was still collecting a salary under the Ministry of
Health afterwards; but, as Imbert explained, Greaves was not transferred.
“He was my personal chauffeur in the Ministry of Health.
“It is a temporary job and it is a contract.
“When I transferred to the Ministry of Science, Technology
and Tertiary Education his employment was no longer needed.
“The minister selects the person for the job.
“He was no longer required and was not a permanent employee.
“He was paid a termination benefit,” said Imbert.
Greaves said he was employed by Imbert as his a personal chauffeur
from April 22, 2003 until the date of his termination on January
11, 2005.
His job summary (as with all other Cabinet Minister and other Ministers
of Government) was to drive an automobile to transport the minister
and/or passengers as directed and perform routine maintenance of
the vehicle.
Greaves claimed when Imbert was given the post of Minister of Science,
Technology and Tertiary Education he was transferred as chauffeur
to a position in Imbert Construction Group Limited.
“While there I performed duties as a foreman.
“It came at a time when he was building a house in Moka, Maraval.
“I had to check to see if the labourers came to work late;
and if there was a shortage of materials on site I had to put in
orders.
“I usually worked from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“And I still collected a salary from the Ministry as his personal
driver,” Greaves alleged.
He claimed the relationship between himself and Imbert was “amicable”.
“He spoke to me on a couple of occasions about being five
or ten minutes late, but it had never escalated to the point of
receiving a warning letter,” he said.
The reason Greaves alleges he was dismissed was because he arrived
“late” on one particular occasion.
He recalled the day: “I applied for vacation in November 2004
for nine days, which meant I went on leave from December 28, 2004
until January 10, 2005.
“I called Minister Imbert on December 23, 2004 and informed
him I would be about 30 minutes late due to a water shortage in
my area.
“Later that day, he told me that it would not be a problem
for me to take the following day off, seeing that it was Christmas
Eve.
“I then left the country to visit the US for my vacation.
“But when I arrived at the airport on January 9 to go back
home, the authorities told me that I could not travel with the bag
I was boarding with and I had to change it before I left the country.
“I was unable to get on my scheduled flight that day.
“I contacted my mother in Trinidad and asked her to call Minister
Imbert and explain to him what happened and she did so.”
Greaves said he arrived at the Piarco International Airport on January
11, 2004 at approximately 7 a.m. and went directly to work arriving
at 9 a.m.
He said he immediately sought a meeting with Minister Imbert to
provide him with a detailed explanation for the late arrival.
“Later in the day I was informed by his Personal Assistant,
Kurt Celestine that I should not report to the Minister’s
House (Moka) the next day but to the ministry,” he said.
The next day when he went to the office of the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Tertiary Education he was fired.
But asked if this was the reason Greaves was terminated, Minister
Imbert said: “All these allegations are false.
“It is irrelevant and ridiculous.
“Apparently he did not understand it was a temporary employment.
“He was not dismissed.
“It was a contract and his employment was terminated.”
The letter Greaves received upon his termination did not give a
reason but said he would receive one month’s salary in lieu
of notice and the payment would be given to him on January 12.
Greaves said the Labour Relations Officer Frank Webb who heard of
his grievance took up the matter and wrote to Imbert.
TnT Mirror contacted Webb who said when he heard of the grievance
it sounded like “a good case” but then suddenly before
December 2005, the complainant told him to forget the case since
it was taking too long.
Greaves revealed: “While working as his chauffeur, I had to
wash not only his Mercedes Benz but the vehicle used by Imbert Construction
and sometimes his wife’s vehicle.”
Minister Imbert steupsed at the suggestion and called it “nonsense”,
when asked by Mirror.
He confirmed that Greaves did accept termination benefits.
Greaves said he received approximately $7,000 for his termination
and claimed he was told not to go to a lawyer or he would not receive
his money.
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