Former Acting Labour Commissioner Reginald Lord is to be offered a contract to return as a Consultant in the Ministry of Labour.
A high-level government source told THE NEW TODAY that Minister of Labour and Attorney General Senator Claudette Joseph has already contacted Lord to come in for talks on government plans to engage him to offer advice on Labour matters.
He said he expected Lord and government to reach an agreement within a matter of days on a contract for his services.
The nearly nine month old Dickon Mitchell-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration was forced to turn to Lord after taking the decision to sever ties with Valerie Thomas as Commissioner of Labour after only four months on the job.
According to the source, Lord who retired from the service in November will not be brought back as a public officer based on the recommendations of the Public Service Commission (PSC), headed by female attorney-at-law Debra St Bernard.
He said the newlook PSC is holding firm to the view that no retiree will be brought back as a public officer but only on contract to assist the government as is necessary.
Sen. Joseph has already announced that the Deputy Labour Commissioner has been appointed to act as Labour Commissioner following the Valerie Thomas issue.
The government insider said that Lord is reluctant to return into the public service after alleged bad treatment under the former Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government but is willing to offer his services in the national interest.
“I am not happy going back there but if my country calls on me to help out in a situation I will do it,” he was quoted as telling a close friend.
Thomas was ousted as Labour Commissioner following reports of an alleged deterioration of relationship between her and several staffers at the Ministry of Labour.
“She and none of the staff weren’t getting along except maybe one or two,” one government insider told THE NEW TODAY.
There are reports that the contract offered to Thomas who took up duties at the beginning of November as Labour Commissioner after a stint in Trinidad for nearly ten years “wasn’t signed yet.”
Thomas is considered as an activist for Congress and campaigned for the party to defeat the NNP regime of Dr. Keith Mitchell in the June 23, 2022 general election.
She was often seen on the campaign trail in the St Andrew South-west constituency to support the party’s candidate Lennox “Toes” Andrew who is now serving as Minister of Economic Development, Planning, Tourism, ICT, Creative Economy, Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries & Co-operatives.
Thomas is also a close friend of the wife of the NDC’s just-re-elected General Secretary Learrie Barry.
