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Female port worker awarded €800,000 for gender discrimination
A female port worker who sued the Port Workers Board for not allowing her to work after inheriting her licence from her father, has been awarded record damages valued at €800,000 by a Court for gender discrimination.
16 November 2012, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
Mr. Justice Meli said that the damages sustained were the result of an undignified attitude adopted by the board.
The First Hall of Civil Court presided by Mr. Justice Silvio Meli has awarded €800,000 in damages to Victoria Cassar for sustaining gender discrimination, when the Port Workers Board refused to recognise her right to work, after inheriting her father's licence to work as a port worker.
In his judgment, Mr. Justice Meli said that the damages sustained were the result of an "undignified attitude" adopted by the board, as well as other competent authorities, for ignoring three different judgements and refused to grant Cassar her right to work as a port worker after inheriting her deceased father's licence, as is customary at the ports.
While liquidating the damages at €799,168, the court ordered that the damages be paid by the Port Workers Board, which is today regulated by Transport Malta.
Victoria Cassar, the eldest of siblings born to Carmelo Abela had died in 1992 and the board had refused to issue her a licence to work as a port worker, on the premise that the licence is transferred only to the first born son.
Cassar had initiated legal procedures in 1993 to win her right to inherit her father's licence and insisted on gender discrimination.
Three previous judgments had ruled in her favour, until today's judgement which liquidated the damages.
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The Nationalist Government likes to portray itself as a keen champion of democracy and anti-discrimination through the Constitution and its legislative enactments to conform to EU Council Directives, even if only on paper. The truth is that in practice this Government consistently disparages, demeans and discriminates against women and other sectors of society such as older persons, gay, black, disabled, foreigners (particularly non-EU), and, most visibly of all, non-sympathizers and non-supporters of the ruling political party. The shameful truth is that the Nationalist Government regards and treats these individuals as if they belonged to some inferior class of citizens. In this precarious situation it is certainly a big relief to these oppressed groups to know that there is a judge in our courts with the backbone to protect their rights by effectively checking out the Government's rampant abuse of power.
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How much does a port worker make then? And what do they do in today's world? And why do you have to have a license? Surely if this is an added cost on imports then it just adds to the cost everything we (and companies in Malta) buy and damages the economy - no?
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Mur ifhem dawn is-sentenzi!!!!spiccajna b'hames 'zero' paragunati ma dawk li kienu jinqataw qabel.....quo vadis mizien!!! u ghalix issa!!!
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Yet another thumping big bill for the taxpayers to foot. When the hell will it end.
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Who will pay, her brother, the Port Workers Board in their personal or official capacity or the long suffering taxpayer, who just cannot stomach this gross mismanagement any longer.
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Human rights my foot. It appears that Ms Victoria Cassar has been suffering for 20 whole years, that is half a life time. Others have been discrimenated for the past 25 and a half years. Where were the PN human rights defenders during this time? As long as it wasn't a nationalist it was/is OK to let Maltese be discriminated. Tonio Borg was a PN executive during this time. He told the MEPs during his grilling last Tuesday how he defended human rights during his career. His CV states that he defended human rights in the 1980s, as if discrimination stopped after Eddie Fenech Adami was elected in 1987. Fenech Adami's administrations were found guilty of discrimination on over 500 cases by the Tribunal of Injustices. Again those thousands who were suffering ask: where was Tonio Borg during this time?
