INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL BORDERS ON DR GIRALDI HOME PROBE By Dominique Searle An industrial tribunal that will inevitably skirt close to material more the remit for a public inquiry into the workings of the Social Services Agency, is set to go ahead next year. But a bid to have former Social Services Minister Yvette del Agua, or her successor Jaime Netto, give evidence and be open to cross examination by Opposition Leader Joe Bossano is unlikely to materialise.
Mr Bossano is representing Joanna Hernandez who claims to have exposed malpractice and abuse at the Dr Giraldi Home and that she was dismissed because she was a ‘whistle blower’.
The Social Services Agency employed Ms Hernandez as manager of the home for a probationary year but sacked her citing management failures including administrative tasks such as timetable keeping.
Tribunal chairman Issac Massias yesterday heard both Mr Bossano and Mark Isola, who is acting for the Social Services Agency, as they argued the case as to whether numerous witnesses cited by Ms Hernandez should be subpoenaed.
Mr Bossano argued that many of the witnesses will have to be subpoenaed because they are Civil Servants or Government employees who fear they would otherwise lose their jobs were they to volunteer evidence.
“People need to be subpoenaed because they are scared of coming voluntarily,” he said.
The case runs a tense proximity to becoming an inquiry on the Social Services and Mr Massias excluded certain evidence, such as that from a CID officer, rejecting its relevance to the tribunal saying this would be “more for an inquiry into the agency”.
On several occasions Ms Hernandez stated that she had taken concerns about issues in the home to senior management and had been told to “keep quiet about it.” She said that this was about the welfare of people’s children and she was not prepared to do this and added that the handicapped have human rights like anybody else.
Mr Isola argued against allowing ‘collateral’ issues not relevant to the dismissal being brought into play. But Mr Massias pointed out that the jurisdiction of the tribunal is more flexible than the Supreme Court.
In a glimpse of the allegations that will be made before the substantive hearing in the New Year, Ms Hernandez told the hearing that her evidence will include misuse of class A drugs in the home and other incidents of people being put at risk.
“I went to senior staff and asked for an investigation and was told to keep quiet,” she said.
Mr Bossano said of parent witnesses who will appear that each of them has a story to tell which “paints a global picture of the inadequacy of the service.”
When Mr Massias said “we are not here to try the agency” Mr Bossano replied “I know we are not here to try the agency. If we were it would be locked up in Moorish Castle.”
Apart from parents, witnesses will include Angela Lucas who now heads St Martin’s School and Isabella Tosso who is the Agency’s main witness and who dismissed Ms Hernandez. Although the complainant wanted to call Mrs del Agua as head of the agency the chairman said the minister who heads the agency would not be required to come so long as a member of the board did appear before the tribunal.
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