Tribunal awards Enemalta workers €70,000 for workplace discrimination

The industrial tribunal has ordered Enemalta to pay five of its workers a total of €70,370 after it found that they had been unjustly discriminated against by the electricity supplier at their workplace.

Glenn Spiteri, Terry Debono, Christopher Attard, Michael Woods and Peter Paul Calleja had been working as Senior Plant Operators for several years but were only being paid Plant Operators' wages.

The corporation had insisted that the Senior Plant Operator rank was not necessary and had only been created for Works Technical Officers who were much more highly qualified, to avoid them being made redundant, as per an agreement reached with the General Worker’s Union.

Documents presented to the tribunal had shown that Enemalta had prepared job descriptions for the two different ranks, however it had been proven that the duties actually carried out were the same.

The rank of Senior Plant Operator was created in 2002, however the examination for this post was only held in 2007. The five plaintiffs all passed the examination but continued to be paid as Plant Operators. To add insult to injury, the corporation underwent a reform in 2011, resulting in a pay rise to the two existing Senior Plant Officers at the time.

The tribunal, presided by lawyer Leslie Cuschieri, ordered the Corporation to pay each of the workers the potential income lost, adding that it was up to the corporation to ensure that the Senior Plant Operators are all paid the same wages from now on.

Lawyer Robert Abela represented the workers.