Diplomat Antoinette Cutajar. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

A judge yesterday stopped the government from dismissing a diplomat and re-employing her with a company set up to engage redundant dockyard workers.

Antoinette Cutajar, 45, who holds a doctorate in political sciences, was informed she would be transferred to State-owned Industrial Projects and Services Ltd. The company had been set up in 2004 to absorb workers who were made redundant following the closure of Malta Shipbuilding, the Malta Shipyards, Kalaxlokk and Sea Malta.

Madam Justice Edwina Grima upheld Dr Cutajar’s argument that she was a public officer employed on an indefinite contract and, therefore, the government could not unilaterally dismiss her.

The judge admitted she was perplexed by the fact that the government expected to employ Dr Cutajar with a company meant to take on former shipbuilding and dockyard workers.

The government had argued that the diplomat had not been employed following a public call but was engaged on the basis of trust under the previous administration.

She was a public officer employed on an indefinite contract and, therefore, the government could not unilaterally dismiss her

The court heard Dr Cutajar was first employed as an adviser with the Foreign Office in 1999. Since then, she served in different posts including as consul in Malta’s Embassy in Madrid and Acting Charge d’Affaires at the Maltese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

She was also the officer handling Malta’s relations with the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and was counsellor at the Permanent Representation in Brussels.

In line with employment laws and EU directives, after four years serving 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. Once she assumed permanent employment, the government could not unilaterally dismiss her, the court was told.

The court upheld this argument.

Lawyer Karol Aquilina appeared for Dr Cutajar.