An experienced diplomat has launched a legal battle to remain with the Foreign Office and stop her forced engagement with a company set up to absorb former dockyard workers.
Antoinette Cutajar, 45, who holds a doctorate in political science, obtained an injunction preventing the government from terminating her employment with the Foreign Office and forcing her to take up employment with Industrial Projects and Services Limited (IPSL).
She refused to accept the salary and deposited it in court
IPSL was set up in 2004 to absorb workers who were made redundant following the closure of Malta Shipbuilding, the Malta Shipyards, Kalaxlokk and Sea Malta.
In legal action launched last week, Dr Cutajar claimed that the government was threatening to terminate her employment through tactics that were tantamount to intimidation.
She claimed she was told her job would be considered terminated if she did not sign a new employment contract with IPSL and was given an ultimatum to contact chairman Lawrence Mizzi. Her case was filed against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Foreign Minister George Vella, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar, Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Fiona-Jayne Formosa and Attorney General Peter Grech.
Madam Justice Edwina Grima upheld her request for an injunction and a sitting is expected to be held tomorrow.
Through her lawyer, Karol Aquilina, Dr Cutajar, from Siġġiewi, stated that she was first employed as an adviser with the Foreign Office in 1999.
Since then, she served in different posts including as the Consul in Malta’s Embassy in Madrid and the acting Charge d’Affaires at the United Nations Permanent Mission in Geneva.
She was also the officer responsible for Malta’s relations with the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and was a counsellor at Malta’s EU permanent representation in Brussels.
In line with employment laws and EU directives, after four years on definite contracts while serving in positions that were not on a trust basis, in December 2007 she became a permanent Scale 7 government employee.
In December 2011, the Public Service Commission had written to the Permanent Secretary claiming that since Dr Cutajar had been employed in a position of trust, it could not authorise an indefinite contract.
The previous administration never acted on this ruling since it disagreed. It believed that although Dr Cutajar had started in a position of trust, she was given other assignments which went beyond this.
She is now working in the Directorate for the Maltese living abroad and recently formed part of the Crisis Centre set up to deal with the situation in Libya. She also received a letter from Mr Cutajar thanking her for her service.
However, in January 2014 the new Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary, Joseph Cole, asked her to sign a new contract with IPSL.
In her court application, Dr Cutajar claimed the authorities had threatened to terminate her employment unless she signed the new contract and that her February salary was also withheld.
It was only after she threatened to report the matter to the police that the salary was issued. Last month, her salary and payslip were issued by IPSL even though she had not signed anything. She refused to accept this salary and deposited it in court.
Ms Cutajar has called on the court to stop the authorities from terminating her employment with the public service.