By Latrishka Thomas
The scale of justice has tipped in the favour of D Gisele Isaac once again when she recorded another win, yesterday, this time in the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
Just over a week ago, Isaac was freed of all criminal action when Justice Stanley John declared a stay of proceedings in her remaining cases.
And yesterday, Isaac received a favourable judgement for a matter that spans back to 2014 when she was dismissed from her duties as executive secretary in the Board of Education (BoE).
Isaac expressed her joy after she received the news, saying: “I did 13 and a-half years’ service on the Board. I did not quit my job. They’re the ones who put me out of bread, who took my reputation from me.
“And in all fairness … I think what they have done to me is outrageous, and obscene and shameful. So, [I’m] very happy with this decision this morning [Monday] and I just hope they don’t go and take the taxpayers money to now appeal to the Privy Council on this point.”
According to her, she was locked out of her office in 2014 and when she went to the Labour Commissioner at the time, she was told that she had been constructively dismissed.
“She [the Labour Commissioner] recommended that I be paid severance for my 13 and a-half years, notice pay and compensation for the dismissal,” Isaac alleged.
But Isaac alleges that that recommendation was never acknowledged by the BoE, so she resorted to going to the Industrial Court.
“When we got to court, the first thing that [Dr] David Dorsett — representing the Board of Education — said, is that he had been instructed by the Attorney General, Cutie Benjamin, to tell the Industrial Court that I was never an employee of the Board of Ed, I was an employee of the Cabinet,” Isaac said.
She said that after three years and several months, the Industrial Court judge decided in her favour, declaring that she was indeed an employee of the BoE.
But within two days, Dr Dorsett filed to appeal the decision and that appeal was overruled, according to the judgement Isaac received yesterday.
Isaac’s lawyer, Justin Simon told Observer that now “either the Board of Education decides to appeal to the Privy Council, or if the time expires and they have not, the matter will go back to the Industrial Court for hearing and determination as to whether she had been constructively dismissed”, upon which time, the former executive secretary of the BoE will be awarded compensation and damages.
Meanwhile, Isaac disclosed that Simon “has won in every step of the battle or every step of this journey, and he has been awarded costs every time. I haven’t been paid a dime in any of the cases he has won against the government, or the Board of Ed, even though he was awarded costs going back to 2015.”
The attorney confirmed that fact, saying they are owed by both the government and the BoE, an amount which has not been determined.
He said that he is hoping that Dr Dorsett will come forward so that they can decide on a “mutually acceptable figure”.
If not, the damages will have to be assessed.