A legal row is now growing over the administrative leave of immigration officers at the western border in late March. Attorney Norman Rodriguez has accused the Ministry of Immigration of acting first and investigating later.
Rodriguez is representing immigration officer Ann Marie Smith, one of the employees noticeably absent during a reported ‘sick-out’ right at the heels of Easter’s long weekend.
Smith and several colleagues were placed on administrative leave under Section 144 of the Public Service Regulations after presenting medical certificates.
Smith’s notice letters cited misconduct “for not acting in her capacity professionally as an immigration officer with the highest level of personal integrity”, said Rodriuez.
Rodriguez argues the ministry has not proven misconduct, despite suggesting a coordinated “sick-out” with an attempt to disrupt operations at the busy border point.
Prime Minister John Briceño labelled the sudden absence “illegal” last Friday, stating, “They can’t get sick all at the same time. Something must be behind it.”
“The allegation is that they all presented medical certificates for the same, more or less, the same period and that they would return more or less on the same date,” he said. “The ministry believes that they wanted to sabotage the goings at the western border.”
Smith, he said, was on doctor-ordered leave and has documented health conditions, including a prior hospitalisation.
“Before you say, ‘I suspect that you are guilty of sabotage or that you wanted to sabotage the goings at your workplace’, You would make the allegation and do a proper investigation, Rodrigez stated.
“You give people an opportunity to respond, but the ministry did not do that,” he added.
He also challenged the ministry’s claims that administrative leave is a routine step in the process.
If it is “a natural part of the process”, he said, then “you would employ natural justice” and allow officers to respond before action is taken.
Rodriguez dismissed suggestions that medical leave was being used to support strike action, calling it “untrue” and insisting the officer’s records show “genuine” illness.
The Ministry of Immigration has maintained that the officers are under investigation as it continues to probe what it describes as a highly unusual pattern of sick calls at the border during a peak travel period.
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