The government has been ordered to pay almost €1.7 million in damages to nine former port workers after a court found that the refusal to renew their port workers' licence after they reached the age of 61 was in breach of their fundamental human rights.

Reginald Grech, George Cini, Carmel Schembri, Francis Portelli, Anthony Parnis, Sebastian Gatt, Rosario Chircop, Luciano Spiteri and Mario Spiteri filed their constitutional application against the transport and economy ministers, the Attorney General and the Malta Transport Authority. 

Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland heard that the nine men were licensed as foremen port workers on a yearly basis with the licences being renewed annually by the Malta Transport Authority. As foremen they were self-employed.

In 2007, in the course of port reform, the government had issued a legal notice in terms of which the retirement age for the foremen was set at 61 and their licences could not be renewed after this age.

The men claimed this was a violation of their property rights, as their licences were their property. They further claimed that they were being discriminated against.

In its judgment, the court noted that it was not contested between the parties that the men had opted for an early retirement scheme introduced in 2008 and had received Lm8,000 each per annum until they reached retirement age at 61.

What was contested and was whether the men had been given a fair choice when they had opted for the scheme and whether the imposition of a retirement age upon them was in violation of their human rights.

Madam Justice Schembri Orland found that the licences held by the foremen were their possession and their property rights merited protection.

The court noted that the reform was an objective and reasonable justification for different treatment to reduce the number of foremen among port workers.

In this case, the nine men had received compensation for the loss of their licences until they reached the retirement age of 61. But another constitutional judgment had provided compensation to other port workers until they reached the age of 71.

This was discriminatory, the court said.

The authorities were ordered to pay each of the men €188,350 in damages.