(Trinidad Guardian) Dismissed by letter and without a reason, Caribbean Airlines’ former communications manager Laura Asbjornsen intends to pursue legal action against the national carrier.
Asbjornsen told the T&T Guardian that her termination letter was signed by CAL’s vice president of Human Resources, Charmaine Heslop- Da Costa to which acting chief executive Robert Corbie was simply copied. Corbie, the T&T Guardian understands, did not approve Aabjornsen’s dismissal. He was out of the country and returned yesterday afternoon but the T&T Guardian was unable to contact him. “I don’t know the reason for being fired. I have not been given one for the termination. I do know that the termination was not authorised by the chief executive,” she said.
Questioned whether the action was provoked by the Sunday Guardian’s story in which the CAL’s executive management had called for Transport Minister’s Devant Maharaj’s intervention into the airline because of micro-management by CAL chairman George Nicholas, Asbjornsen refused to speculate. “Again, I am not sure as to the reason. I don’t want to make connections but I don’t believe that I have done anything wrong. I plan to take the matter further,” she said. The Guardian understands that following the publication of last Sunday’s story, which was critical Nicholas’ leadership and his vision for the organisation, that Da Costa was directed to terminate Asbjornsen’s services. Asbjornsen, a permanent employee, worked at CAL for just under three years. She is the third high-profile dismissal initiated by Nicholas—former chief executive Captain Ian Brunton was fired by Nicholas two weeks after he was appointed chairman and corporate secretary Nerine Small was dismissed in July.
Brunton, who had pursued legal proceedings for wrongful dismissal, had his matter settled out of court.
Nicholas had resigned, via email to Maharaj and the board, on August 16 over a disagreement on the acquisition of two additional aircraft for CAL but Transport Minister Devant Maharaj had refused his resignation. However, nine days later a letter signed by the executive management of CAL wrote to Maharaj, and copied to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and Finance Minister Winston Dookeran, expressing their reservations about Nicholas and sought to indemnify themselves should the Government fail to act. Maharaj told the Guardian he was unaware of the details of Asbjornsen’s dismissal. He said he awaited the board minutes to discover the rationale for her removal.
