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Friday, November 16, 2012, 09:21

Updated - Woman awarded €799,168 for gender discrimination

Updated - Adds details -

The daughter of a former port worker who was not allowed to take her father's place of work due to her gender has been awarded almost €800,000 in damages by the First Hall of the Civil Court.

Victoria Cassar filed her writ in 1993 against the Port Workers Board.

She told the court that her father, port worker Carmelo Abela had retired from work in August 1992. The filling of a vacant post among port workers was regulated by the 1996 Port Worker Regulations whcih stipulated that eligibility to fill a vacancy was limited to the eldest son of a port worker.

Mrs Cassar said that she was the eldest of her father's three daughters and that the Port Workers Board had not allowed her to fill her father's vacant post on the basis that she was a woman.

She had then discovered that her father's brother had applied to be registered as a port worker in her father's place and that the application had been accepted by the Board.

Mrs Cassar had then requested the courts to award her damages on the basis that she had suffered a financial loss.

In yesterday's judgment Mr Justice Silvio Meli pointed out that another court had delivered a partial judgment in this case in 1999 and that the hearing of the case had then been suspended until such time as a constitutional application filed by Mrs Cassar was decided upon.

It resulted that in 2002 the constitutional case was decided and that the court had ordered the Port Workers Board to allow Mrs Cassar to register herself as eligible to be a port worker with retroactive effect back to 1992.

Yesterday's judgment was therefore limited to the damages suffered by Mrs Cassar.

Mr Justice Meli pointed out that Mrs Cassar was a Bank of Valletta employee and that her salary in this post was considerably less that what she would have earned as a port worker. The difference between the two salaries in the period between 1993 and 2010 amounted to €288,868. To this sum the court added EUR53,000 which represented benefits received by port workers and the sum of EUR457,300 which consisted in the difference in Mrs Cassar bank salary and that of a port worker until her retirement.

The court added that it was basing its decision on the attitude of the Board which had continued to deprive Mrs Cassar of her rights despite previous court judgments.

In total Mrs Cassar was awarded €799,168 in damages

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S.M. Cuschieri

Nov 17th 2012, 08:25

I am sorry Corey but discrimination exists to this day. In subtle ways, yes, but it still does. I am not in a position to elaborate, and I do not wish t,o but yes. Gender discrimination, especially in male dominated jobs, still does exist. I am so happy for this woman. Believe me, if the courts did not believe she had a strong case in her favour, she would not have won it hands down.

A. MICALLEF

Nov 16th 2012, 19:10

This is daylight robbery from the state coffers. The government must appeal and must not
pay.

D Muscat

Nov 16th 2012, 16:48

The Port workers board...which falls under the Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (MITC) .

http://gov.mt/en/Government/Government%20of%20Malta/Ministries%20and%20Entities/Officially%20Appointed%20Bodies/Pages/Boards/Port-Workers%27-Board-.aspx

So going back to your question, the answer probably is.. you, me and all the other long suffering taxpayers.

M Attard

Nov 16th 2012, 15:12

That's easy Mr Caruana, do you pay taxes? If yes then of course you are paying . . . . obviously not the 'paid consultants' who decided on the matter and screwed up

Peter Agius

Nov 16th 2012, 14:12

As someone used to say........not in the public Interest.

Fran Abela

Nov 16th 2012, 14:01

No doubt the Maltese taxpayer is footing the bill - the hardworking peole who pay their tax dues. What is with Justice Meli, dishing out compensation money, right, left and centre. Who is her lawyer ?

Michael Seychell

Nov 16th 2012, 14:11

(jb) If you read these 2 sentences you would know who has to pay €799,168 awarded as damages

"Miss Victoria Cassar filed her writ in 1993 against the Port Workers Board."

"The court added that it was basing its decision on the attitude of the Board which had continued to deprive Mrs Cassar of her rights despite previous court judgments."

Michael Seychell Tal-Pieta

Peter Agius

Nov 16th 2012, 14:11

He already dished out 200,000 Euros to a certain Vella.

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 12:55

@ Valentina, if you don't consider yourself good for this job don't consider it. But kindly note that i would gladly take this post even if I'm a woman. Do you think that whoever has a licence as a 'Burdnar', goes to port and do all the work by himself? Give me a licence and i give you the results that i'm able to do it!! We are living in 2012 and not in 1950's.

Valentina Muscat

Nov 16th 2012, 13:25

Nowadays you cannot pay someone else to do the job for you. And if i'm not mistaken port worker is different from burdnar. Burdnara are those who take containers out from the ports. Port workers only work inside the ports. If there are 30 women working as portworkers none of them do the latching because this is not a women job, there are also a few men that are not capable to the latching!

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 13:38

@ Valentina, you can go around very easy and this is what they do. The licence remain on one person (with private agreements that he can't take all the income and the usual staff, like other big companies do) You just register the trucks on the name of who has this licence and you send a driver :). And it's done!!! And the work is given to them and not they ran after it!!!

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 13:06

@ C Muscat, hawn qed nitkellmu fuq licenzja u mhux fuq xoghol li tmur taghmel manualment. Dak huwa differenti, li ikollok licenzja ma iffisierx li tmur int personalment, izda li tista tibghat trakkijiet u nies tieghek jahdemu xoghol. Dik li hija licenzja!!!!

Valentina Muscat

Nov 16th 2012, 13:37

@d. Portelli you don't know what you're talking about, port workers don't have their trucks. You' re talking about a different job

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 14:16

The port workers job doesn't get inheritated by generations as far as i know, but the licence that i'm talking about does, it gives you access to areas restricted to others. Do you think that the judge won't have considered the fact that this woman wasn't fit enough to do this job otherwise!!. We are talking about 800K and not a few thousands.

Valentina Muscat

Nov 16th 2012, 14:33

I can see that you don' know what you're talking about and i tell you again you can ask who ever you want women port workers don't do the same job as men do there. They only drive trucks going from a stack to another, and some of them do also cappa. The port workers job used to get the inheritance from a generation to another until malta joined the eu.

Mr Andrew Camilleri

Nov 16th 2012, 12:15

The Constitutional Court did - way back in 2002 - but was ignored. I think this is one of the reasons why the judgment is so harsh on the Board. Next, I wonder where this money is coming from - I hope not from taxpayers, once again. If it is, I demand that whoever ignored the court's ruling should be held responsible for this mess.

J. Debono

Nov 16th 2012, 12:15

The Port Workers Board will foot the bill.

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 13:14

@ Anthony Farrugia as far as i know it was transferable from the father to the first male born, (not first born child) and has to keep on going on through generations. At this is why there is this issue here, since this man had just females. I can't answer your question, because it's a blessing to have this type of licence this day and no one is willing to sell it. Secure profit!!

Simon Bonello

Nov 17th 2012, 19:02

@ D Portelli..... kieku l genitur tieghek jew missieru kellhom i gazz imorru jahdmu meta kien hemm it tbatija u li jinhadem kollox manwalment, kieku forsi int qieghed hemm ukoll illum. Sinjal li bezaw mit tbatija. U meta titkellem ara sew l- affarijiet ax qed thallat il hass mal b*** ! xoghol ta port worker u burdnar huma totalment differenti !

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 13:24

The discrimation remained there because the licences is transferable to the first male born and not first born, like back then the crowns and titles of the rich people. (today UK made a change that the first born will take the title of King/ Queen to Prince William) so discrimation about sex was removed. Here as well we are talking about something that secures ur future if you manage well.

O Galea

Nov 16th 2012, 12:12

AGREED.

This anomaly is an outrage, downright discriminatory, and illegal.

Perhaps they are waiting for all the pensioners to "die off". :-(
In which case their spouses should still be awarded the difference.

The persons looking after this issue need to go more public.... it is unfortunate
that this method seems the only way to get a modicum of justice in this country.

A. Borg

Nov 16th 2012, 11:40

Xorta mhu se jinbidel xejn habib. Se nibqghu inhallsu ghal dawn l-izbalji int u jien u l-poplu Malti u Ghawdxi.

Peter Agius

Nov 16th 2012, 11:46

Dan il-kaz gej minn zmien il-Lejber, Wenz.

david xerri

Nov 16th 2012, 13:23

ghaziz peter agius, jekk taqra sewwa , u taf l -storja politika ta malta, tinduna li mhux fi zmien l-MLP ;-)

Peter Agius

Nov 16th 2012, 14:08

Ghax din li jintieret ix-xoghol, hadd ma kellu id-dicenza li jwaqqafha, Sur Xerri.

Mrs nic mifsud

Nov 16th 2012, 14:35

@ david xerri, skuzani imma nahseb int ma tafx taqra sewwa ta!! Peter Agius ghandu ragun, dawn huma kolla zbalji li bdew fi zmien il labour!!

D Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 13:30

@ Joseph N. Attard. I'm sorry for the bad news, but you can't get this licence!!! A port worker u can be but not like the one with this licence,these still have previage over the new comers and that is why this woman fighted for this licence, so it will pass to her childeren as well. They should remove this licence and start with equal rights, not only who was lucky to be born first the rest nil

A. MICALLEF

Nov 16th 2012, 11:53

Il-port huwa propjeta ta l-istat u mhux tal-port workers. Port worker huwa bhal kull job iehor
u mhux xi propjeta ta xi familja. Anke tohrog fi triq huwa perikoluz, dawn kollha skuzi u din
l-arroganza spejjes ta taxpayer ghandh tispicca minnufih.

Mrs nic mifsud

Nov 16th 2012, 14:40

iva mela taf meta jkunu high risk ux??? meta huma id dar u jibatu haddiem iehor min flokom u jihdulek il flus tal moves minn fuq dar haddiehor!!!!! tahwid u flus bl addocc huma imhalsin hemm geww!!!!

Valentina Muscat

Nov 16th 2012, 12:27

Thanks to the eu the port workers you cannot inherit the licence anymore

Frank Portelli 2BFRANK

Nov 16th 2012, 10:03


Those who made the decision to bar a woman form working -- simply because she was not born a male.
They made the decision --- and they should be held personally accountable.
Their decision goes against the constitution and they had a duty to safeguard the constitution
The public had no say in the matter.
Unless we reinforce accountability these matters will continue to happen.

Victor Rodenas

Nov 16th 2012, 11:02

Missna nhallsu ahna wkoll dak il- kas tal- ex-qassisin.....

Mr Andrew Camilleri

Nov 16th 2012, 12:20

Frank Portelli, you should by now have learnt that no one is held personally responsible for their mistakes in Malta if they work with a government entity. It is always us the consumers and the taxpayers who foot the bill. Have you ever heard of anyone resigning or fired for making a mistake while in government employment (unless they are scapegoats as those guys in the Education Dept were)?

tony abela

Nov 16th 2012, 09:45

That is a little outdated. Today it is either 'roll-on-roll-off' or cranes. Gone by are the days where port workers used to manhandle the merchandise.

m. borg (slm)

Nov 16th 2012, 12:00

You should go on an oil rig there are women that would shame you.

Mr Mark Borh

Nov 16th 2012, 10:15

One can only wish that a sum of money like that can land onto their lap. That's a retirement plan right there!

Saviour Fenech

Nov 16th 2012, 09:48

X'ghandu x'jaqsan. Dawk kienu r-regolamenti dak iz-zmien. Anqas fi zmien il-Labour ma bidluhom, ghax ma kienx jaqblilhom.

Julian Borg

Nov 16th 2012, 09:51

X'ghandu x'jaqsam il PN?

Evarist Saliba

Nov 16th 2012, 10:24

Infakkrek li fiz-zmien li Agatha Barbara kienet ministru responsabbli mix-xoghol, ghaddiet ligi li post vakat minn ragel ma setax jintela minn mara. Inhallu pregudizzji politici mill-argumenti jekk tassew irridu soluzzjonji ghal prattici antikwati..

laurent caruana

Nov 16th 2012, 10:32

ohlom!

Anthony Portelli

Nov 16th 2012, 10:34

frivolous

G A Bonello

Nov 16th 2012, 10:45

Justice Meli's political leanings are very well-known, and it is certainly not on the side of the present Govt.
Obviously, any moves to remove him will be taken as politically motivated, so he is in a "win-win" situation.

Mr M Spiteri

Nov 16th 2012, 10:56

@ Evarist Saliba,

During the times of Agatha Barbara that you are refering to, we had a country without any infrastructure and totally bankrupt by Borg Olivier and his PN. The Labour government wasbuilding this courtry from ground up. The PN was so much agaist women that the PN did not want women to vote and it was the likes of Agatha Barbara and Mintoff that gave women the right to vote.

Neville Bugeja

Nov 16th 2012, 10:57

X'ghanda x'taqsam il politika? Iktar jinkwetani il-fatt li nies bhalek ghandhom vot...

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