Another victory promised in teachers’ vaccine mandate case

In November last year, lead counsel for the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU), Jomo Thomas, promised a big victory in the Covid-19 vaccine mandate case.

His promise came to pass in March 2023 when dismissed teachers claimed a win in the High Court in the case brought against the government challenging the mandate. Justice Esco Henry ruled that the government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and the terminations were “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires, disproportionate and tainted by procedural impropriety”.

Now a year later, Thomas has given teachers yet another promise – that by January 2024 they will be celebrating again when the appeal lodged by the government is quashed.

“The Court of Appeal will uphold the decision issued by Justice Henry… that teachers, that police did not abandon their jobs, we are convinced that the court of appeal will also agree with that.”

It was back on November 18, 2021 when the mandate, under the Public Health Rules 2021, came into effect for frontline workers including teachers, police, nurses and other health care workers, as well as workers at the ports of entry throughout the country.

Thomas told attendees at the Teachers Solidarity Rally on Friday, November 17 that the union knew these mandates were unconstitutional and that the government wronged public workers by dismissing them.

Justice Henry had ruled that none of the workers ceased to be entitled to hold the respective offices and that the dismissed workers were entitled to the full pay and all benefits inclusive of any accrued pension and gratuity benefits from the dates that they were deemed to have resigned.

Following the ruling, the defendants – the Minister of Health and the Environment, the Public Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney General and the Police Service Commission – quickly filed an appeal and applied for a stay of execution of judgment.

“Before the decision was given any air at all, the government said they would appeal and they have.Government had to present their appeal case by October 19 … and Unions had to answer the case by November 3,” Thomas told the crowd at Bishop’s College Kingstown.

Thomas said that come January next year, the court will once again vindicate the dismissed teachers and they will be paid what is owed to them.

“Now all we do is wait for January 2024. We are very comfortable that when the matter is litigated before the Court of Appeal next year, which is in a sort nine, ten weeks time, that the court will uphold the decision issued by Justice Henry.

All of you who were out, I expect you to get these monies, I expect you to get the benefits and move forward as teachers and public servants triumphantly.”