Trade unionist calls interdiction of NEPA building inspector oppressive

The industrial relations consultant representing National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) building inspector Rhyan Henry has charged that his client’s interdiction and 20 per cent salary cut are oppressive and unlawful.

The claim was made in a letter dated January 31, which was dispatched to NEPA by trade unionist Lambert Brown.

Henry was sent on interdiction, minus 20 per cent of his salary, to facilitate a “disciplinary investigation” into “allegation of gross misconduct”, NEPA indicated in a January 17 letter to him, The Sunday Gleaner first reported.

The building inspector was the first to flag breaches detected at the controversial Charlemont housing development i n St Andrew, which was undertaken by president of the state-owned National Water Commission Mark Barnett and his wife Annette.

The NEPA letter, which was signed by Karlene Hamilton Reid, director of human resource management and development, explained that its actions were based on the agency’s human resource resources policies and procedures manual of August 2023.

It indicated, too, that the interdiction and salary cut was “in accordance with Regulation 32 of the Public Services Regulation (1962)”.

“It must be stressed that at this stage, this action … is purely to gather evidence to conclude whether further action, if any, should be taken,” the letter said.

Brown, in his response to Hamilton Reid, said NEPA’s letter to his client is an “admission” that Henry currently faces no disciplinary proceedings “since no investigation has been done and there has been no conclusion that such disciplinary proceedings are necessary”.

He noted, too, that no criminal proceedings have commenced against Henry.