It was another day in court today for former open vote worker Melissa Tucker. Tucker is suing the Government of Belize for unjustly firing her after 17 years of service. Tucker was hired as a Open Vote Worker and held the post of School Health Coordinator for all those years but, she was terminated in 2013. The only explanation she was given is that she was grossly insubordinate and that she needed to leave. But Tucker isn't settling for that at all. She says that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance should have authorized her appointment and sent the relevant information to the Public Services Commission in 2006 - securing her job. But according to Tucker that was never done and now she is left fighting for her rights and dignity as a worker. Today after the court session, she and her attorney Magali Marin Young told us what came out of today's trial and what their contentions are in this case.
Melissa Tucker, suing the Government of Belize
"I felt that at 2013 when they decided to terminate me that it was unfair and it was an injustice. I also want to have attention reflected on the open vote workers regulations. While public officers under this set of regulations do have some benefits when it comes to dismissal and discipline. It's totally left up to the really the whim of the executive and so I brought the claim against them in 2014."
"The judge heard arguments from both sides with supporting precedence that was set in the region and so she will then deliberate on those that was presented by myself and of course the defendant's lawyer and then come to judgement."
Magali Marin-Young, Attorney for Melissa Tucker
"What the court was concerned about is one of the reliefs we sought. We can either say that the claimant is a public officer or an open vote worker and in this particular case the claimant started in the public service as an open vote worker in 1995. Since 1999 she has been actively pursuing to be regularized in that post by the public services' commission. I have argued that the repeated omission, the reckless regard for this Ms. Tucker seeking a career in the public service, in fact breach her right to protection of the law and to equal protection of the law. Because there was a total wonton regard. Ultimately, the government terminated her services. Gave reasons which we believe were totally unfounded. She was for example told that she was guilty of gross insubordination, because her attorney has requested one week to file a letter in reply to the allegations made against her. So we believe that the way she was treated, there was lack of due process."
Young told us their main position is the Ministry of Educations' repeated failure to regularize Tucker's position. Deputy Solicitor General Nigel Hawke, who is representing the Government of Belize, refused to comment.
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