‘We’re left to go crazy and die’

Three HEART/NSTA Trust employees say they have been left dejected and hurt after a slew of new charges were brought against them just days before their “nine months of hell” in suspension was due to end.

The matter follows an investigation of at least four workers, and the suspension in February of three on full pay, for alleged compensation “irregularities”.

Lawmakers were puzzled on October 18 over the length of time it was taking for the matter to be settled.

Quizzed on the issue at a meeting of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), Dr Taniesha Ingleton, managing director of HEART, said the national skills training agency was still within the nine-month period stipulated by its disciplinary policy.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. Nine months for an internal investigation is awfully long,” lamented Fitz Jackson, an opposition legislator.

However, The Sunday Gleaner has learned that the case will go on for a while longer.

Last week, HEART informed Novelette Denton Prince, its senior director of corporate services and former acting managing director; Sonia Ingleton, senior manager, human resource management; and Oneke Dixon, manager, human resources, that their suspension was extended until the completion of a disciplinary process.

An October 27 letter advised that disciplinary hearings have been scheduled for November 13 and 20, and each person has up to November 8 to provide the evidence or witnesses they intend to rely on.

Another letter dated October 30, one day before the suspension was due to end, was issued and contained “shocking developments”, according to one of the officials, referring to the new charges that have been levelled against them.

HEART abandoned four of five charges for one individual and added three new ones. In another case, HEART added 11 new charges. A third individual’s charge count jumped from five to 13.

The original charges were disclosed in September and were based on a 120-page investigation report that was completed in July 2023. HEART said the new charges also flow from the same report.

“If you have this report from July, then it means the investigation was completed from July. In September, you informed of charges using the report?” questioned a senior official at the government agency, who did not want to be named because they were not authorised to comment on the matter.

“What happened? Why the change and additions of so many other charges based on the same report you had three months ago?”

RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED

HEART has told the suspended officials that they cannot leave the island without permission from management, shall not contact any HEART employee without authorisation, and must not discuss their case. It has also imposed other restrictions.

The probe, which reportedly centred on concerns about unapproved payments to “select” workers, was triggered by a 2022 special audit. Some of the officials said they did not get the audit until September.

The three-member disciplinary panel is made up of chairperson and attorney Nicole Gordon; Dr Lauren Marsh, acting head of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Labour Studies Institute at The University of the West Indies; and human resource practitioner Bernita Locke.

They will consider penalties from a reprimand up to dismissal.

HEART has not released any figures but The Sunday Gleaner has obtained preliminary sums, indicating that the investigation may have cost the agency up $7.5 million. The cost for the disciplinary panel is reportedly projected at over $4 million.

“I have been traumatised. I feel betrayed and abused,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a position adopted by some of the officials who spoke with The Sunday Gleaner about how they have been coping.

“The whole situation has taken a toll on my health, my mental well-being, and my family. I have given my life to this organisation,” added the official.

The officials have denied the allegations against them. They have also indicated that while they are not against an investigation, they are questioning the processes. Their concerns include the manner in which they were informed – handed letters and told to leave work with immediate effect – and lack of specificity in subsequent charges brought against them, among other things.

“We have not received a proper charge sheet outlining the specifics of the allegations. And how can we even respond when we are blocked from work and cannot even call a colleague without permission? In September, when they gave us the charge, we got the document [on] September 13 and were told to respond by September 27. That was the first time we were getting a copy of the audit which spurred the investigation,” said another official.

“We did not get the investigation report until last week. Yet we are to be prepared for a hearing on November 13 and 20 without these. We are senior persons, it means we gave instructions,” one official said.

TOKEN STATEMENT

Managing Director Ingleton took over the troubled entity in August 2022, after a one-year stint as vice president at the Caribbean Maritime University. Before then, she was head of the education ministry’s National College for Educational Leadership.

At the PAAC meeting, Ingleton said that she could not give details of the probe as she wanted to avoid prejudicing the case.

“My first duty is to ensure that I protect the dignity of the individuals who are on leave,” she told the committee.

But one of the officials said their treatment by HEART so far does not suggest that their dignity has been given priority.

“Reference to dignity is just that. It’s a token statement. It has nothing to do with actions. We’re hurting and you go to the PAAC and say that?” the employee said. “Nobody has called us to check in, to ask how we are doing, to even offer counselling while the processes are under way. We’re left to die and to go crazy.”

The officials’ suspension was initially for three months, from February 1. But it was extended for an additional two months and then for a further four months. They are still receiving their full salaries.

In August, King’s Counsel Andre Earle, who represents one of the employees, said the suspension is “completely inappropriate and improper” and criticised the lack of information provided to his client.

“I think part of the process is to break us down. To force us into resigning. But they will have to think again,” one of the officials told The Sunday Gleaner. “What has happened is an indecent assault on the institution and our careers. It hurts to the core. It burns. It burns. It burns.”

Another one said they were very dejected and distraught at the handling of the process and the implications for their career and reputations. “I was very discouraged when I saw the new letters. I have to come up with new coping mechanisms. I am at the edge of giving up, but I can’t come this far and give up.”

GUARDING MENTAL HEALTH

Anxiety and feelings of depression are likely during situations like these, said Dr Myo Kyaw Oo, a psychiatrist of over three decades and outgoing senior medical officer at the Bellevue Hospital, Jamaica’s chief psychiatry facility.

“Many persons who lose the job temporarily, they can have their concerns, they can have their anxiety, they can have their worry how [it’s] going to end, whether I’m going to get back the job or what would be the consequences. It’s a natural worry that persons would have,” he said.

Oo suggested that persons with these concerns may reach out to mental health clinics, their family doctor, private practitioners, or even counsellors and employee assistance programmes at their workplace.

“The main thing is that the persons need to realise that they have this kind of anxiety and worry, and seek out help,” he said.

Ingleton has insisted that HEART has been adhering to its protocols in dealing with the matter.

“We have been following all the aspects of the process to the T. There’s a clear process, and we have ensured that we do everything right to ensure that there’s absolutely no breach,” she said.

The suspended employees were among almost two dozen HEART staff, from various levels, who have shared their experiences with The Sunday Gleaner since the February suspensions of their colleagues.

“I don’t think people are against an investigation. I think it is how the workers have been treated. The lack of communication; the duration. A lot of people are fearful. These are very senior officials, what would happen to more junior colleagues?” one person said.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com