Dismissed fire fighter takes
legal action against airport
PHILIPSBURG--Dismissed fire fighter Michael Illis has filed a court injunction against Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) to be paid his salary until his services are legally terminated.
His attorney Reynold Groeneveldt said there was “urgent reason” for the dismissed employee to be paid his salary retroactive to the day he would be terminated.
Groeneveldt said the court could not make a pronouncement on whether Illis’ termination was justified, and would only decide on whether the airport should continue paying his salary. The case was handled last Friday and a decision is expected on July 20.
Illis was fired last month for refusing to remove part of a fire truck engine that had caught fire on two occasions. He had contended that he couldn’t perform the task, because he was not skilled in the area.
Mediation among government mediator Kenneth Lopes, PJIA and United Federation of the Windward Antilles (UFA) to have Illis reinstated proved fruitless. Airport Operating Company President Eugene Holiday maintained that the employee would not be reinstated, Groeneveldt said.
“Our contention is that the dismissal is illegal and wrongful, because Mr. Illis did not refuse to carry out a legal order. Our position is that the order given to him to remove a part from the truck, which had already caught fire twice, together with the dangerous situation that the truck had not been inspected to ensure that it was safe, was not valid,” Groeneveldt contended.
“They airport did not accept his (Illis) statement and took it as refusal to work, when it was not a refusal to work. It was an indication that he felt that the situation was unsafe and needed a specialised person, trained as a mechanic, to work on the truck.”
The Daily Herald understands that most of the fire fighters who had reported sick for several days following the firing of Illis have since returned to work. The court had ordered the workers to return to work or face a NAf. 2,500 daily fine. The exact number of fire fighters who have since reported for duty could not be ascertained.
In the meantime, another issue is brewing at the airport with management moving to terminate the labour agreement of another one of its employees working at the Air Traffic Services.
The employee in question was placed on inactive duty pending the outcome of a medical evaluation on whether he was fit for work. UFA Vice President at the Air Traffic Control facility Aurillio Baly had told reporters at a press conference earlier this year that a Dutch side based doctor had misdiagnosed the worker, based on a report from a French neurologist, and a second opinion was demanded. “During his period of time abroad for medical examination, this employee received a threatening phone call from management, stating that if the employee did not report to work, the airport would enforce its no work, no pay policy,” Baly had said at the press conference.
The employee in question is on inactive duty and is receiving his salary. The case is likely to be called late this month.
