A man has won €30,000 in compensation after an industrial tribunal ruled that his job was terminated illegally.

Joseph Baldacchino sued his former employer, F.S. Engineering and Plastics Limited, where he had worked since 2010 as a toolmaker and handyman.

His job was abruptly terminated in June 2013 when he was summoned to the director’s office and informed he had been made redundant. The reason given was lack of work.

The tribunal heard that this happened a few days after an argument with the company director who did not approve an hour’s leave so Mr Baldacchino could visit his son in hospital.

Mr Baldacchino told the tribunal that the director, Frank Saliba, told him “he did not care” about his family and ordered him to work overtime that day.

Their working relationship had turned sour when Mr Saliba found out he was a member of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, which had asked the company to improve his working conditions.

Several former employees testified they had seen a systematic “hire and fire” approach and were treated as mere numbers.

The tribunal, chaired by Charmaine Cristiano Grech, noted that the work Mr Baldacchino used to do was still required after he was made redundant.

Moreover, it found it strange that the termination came about just days after the quarrel. It ruled that the termination was unjust and illegal.

Lawyer Andrew Grima, on behalf of the UĦM, appeared for Mr Baldacchino.