分类： society

A landmark workplace ruling from Antigua and Barbuda’s Industrial Court has delivered justice to a working mother who was unlawfully removed from her job following childbirth, ordering the defendant hospitality business to pay more than $61,000 in damages and back pay.

Joshuanette Francis, who first joined the team at Sheer Rocks Restaurant and Bar in 2016 and worked her way up to the position of Junior Supervisor, was abruptly taken off the establishment’s work roster in October 2020, shortly before she welcomed her child. What followed was more than five years of legal wrangling to hold her former employer accountable for violating basic maternity protections enshrined in local labor law.

During court proceedings, the tribunal heard critical details that exposed the unfairness of the restaurant’s actions: no formal termination letter was ever issued to Francis, and when her legally mandated maternity leave concluded in November 2021, the business refused to reinstate her to her role. The court’s final judgment, delivered publicly on 22 May 2026, confirmed that Sheer Rocks failed to uphold its clear legal obligation under the country’s Labour Code, which requires employers to restore workers to their positions following the end of approved maternity leave.

In the ruling, the court sharply criticized the restaurant’s conduct, labeling the dismissal of Francis as both harsh and oppressive. Tribunal members noted that after Francis gave birth, the employer cut off all communication with her and never provided any formal explanation for removing her from the roster, leaving her without income or job security during a vulnerable period.

The total compensation awarded to Francis amounts to $61,118.32, covering a range of losses incurred over the years of her unemployment. The breakdown includes back pay for lost wages, accrued unused vacation pay, compensation for loss of employment protection, required statutory notice pay, exemplary damages, and coverage for her legal costs. The court has ordered the full amount to be paid to Francis no later than 30 June 2026.

Of the total award, $20,000 is designated as exemplary damages, a designation the court made after concluding that Sheer Rocks’ management acted with full knowledge of its obligations. The business had already completed all the official documentation required to process Francis’s maternity benefits, meaning leadership was fully aware of her protected status as a maternity leave employee yet still chose to unlawfully exclude her from the work roster.

In an interview following the release of the judgment, Francis emphasized that the ruling was more than a personal victory—it was a win for all working mothers facing similar mistreatment. After a years-long legal battle, she said the outcome has vindicated her decision to fight for her rights, and she is encouraging other workers who face pregnancy or maternity-related discrimination to come forward and assert their legal protections.

Francis was represented throughout the proceedings by Samuel A. James and Simon Leonard, legal representatives of the Antigua and Barbuda Free Trade Union, which supported her effort to hold the employer accountable. The case sets a clear public precedent for enforcing maternity rights in the country’s hospitality sector, one of the region’s largest employers of working women.

A landmark ruling from the Industrial Court of Antigua and Barbuda has delivered justice to a mother wrongfully pushed out of her job after taking maternity leave, awarding her more than $61,000 in damages and back pay from local hospitality venue Sheer Rocks Restaurant and Bar.

The case centered on Joshuanette Francis, who built a five-year career with the establishment starting in 2016, working her way up from entry-level staff to the position of Junior Supervisor. When Francis gave birth in 2020, management removed her name from the work roster that October, cutting off her access to shifts before she even began her legally mandated maternity leave. When her leave concluded in November 2021, the restaurant refused to give Francis her job back, and never issued a formal written termination notice to explain the decision, leaving her unemployed and in the dark about her employment status.

In the final judgment handed down on 22 May 2026, the court confirmed that the restaurant had violated clear provisions laid out in Antigua and Barbuda’s Labour Code, which requires employers to reinstate workers to their positions after they complete maternity leave. The ruling labeled Francis’s removal from the roster as “harsh and oppressive”, emphasizing that the employer offered zero communication or justification for its actions after Francis welcomed her child.

Breaking down the total award of $61,118.32, the compensation covers lost wages, accrued unused vacation pay, loss of statutory employment protection, required pay in lieu of notice, legal costs, and exemplary damages. Of that total, $20,000 was allocated to exemplary damages, a designation the court approved after finding the restaurant acted knowingly: management had already processed and approved all required documentation for Francis’s maternity benefits, meaning it was fully aware of its legal obligation to reinstate her, yet still chose to exclude her from the roster permanently. The court has ordered the full amount to be paid to Francis no later than 30 June 2026.

Speaking to reporters following the ruling, Francis called the decision a long-awaited win after years of navigating the legal process. She used the moment to encourage other working people who face similar discriminatory treatment after pregnancy or maternity leave to assert their legal rights and seek justice.

Francis was represented in court by legal advisors Samuel A. James and Simon Leonard from the Antigua and Barbuda Free Trade Union, which supported her through the four-year legal battle. The case sets a new public precedent for enforcing maternity protections for hospitality workers across the Eastern Caribbean.

A member of the public has spoken out to question how police responded to two separate sightings of a woman reportedly carrying a large blade in a public area on Friday, warning that a potential safety hazard was left unaddressed.

The witness first caught sight of the individual just before 9 a.m. in the Liberta district. According to their account, the woman was dressed in a bikini top paired with denim jeans, and was positioned close to a local fresh produce stall, clutching what the observer described as a sizable knife. Worried that the open carrying of the weapon put nearby community members at risk, the resident immediately went to the Liberta Police Station to file an official report.

Despite the visit, the resident claims that while an on-duty officer recorded their name and contact telephone number, no formal incident report was logged into police systems. Several hours after the first encounter, the same resident crossed paths with the same woman again, this time close to the main entry point of All Saints. They further allege that the woman remained in possession of the large knife, and was seen throwing a vehicle hubcap directly into an active roadway while moving traffic was passing through the area.

In response to this second, more dangerous incident, the resident placed an emergency call to 911, which was subsequently routed to the All Saints Police Station. Officers were given clear directions to the woman’s exact location to enable them to intervene. The resident later returned to the Liberta Police Station to share details of the second sighting as an update to their original report, but once again, they claim no notes of the new information were taken, and no officer asked for additional context or evidence to support their claims.

To date, the allegations made by the resident have not been independently confirmed by third-party outlets or official investigations. It also remains unclear whether responding police officers ever successfully located the woman, or made contact with her to question her about the reported incidents. Frustrated by the perceived lack of action, the resident chose to reach out to local media to highlight their concerns, arguing that what they view as a potentially dangerous public situation has not received the urgent attention it deserves.

After a temporary pause triggered by Antigua and Barbuda’s recent General Elections, the country’s national Census Office is moving forward with the 2025 Population and Housing Census, rolling out a second wave of trained enumerators to the field starting Monday, June 15.

The first communities to see these new enumerators in action are the Greenbay Primary School neighborhood and its surrounding areas, where enumerators will begin conducting door-to-door interviews, gathering responses from both residential households and local business establishments. This deployment of additional field staff marks a key milestone in the national counting exercise, bringing the project one step closer to its successful completion.

More than a simple headcount, the decennial Population and Housing Census stands as one of the most critical national undertakings for any country. The comprehensive, granular data collected through the census process forms the evidence base for nearly every major government policy decision, shapes long-term national development planning, and guides the fair allocation of public resources across high-priority sectors including public health, education, affordable housing, employment services, and core infrastructure development. Accurate, timely census data ensures that policy choices impacting local communities are rooted in reliable, up-to-date information rather than outdated estimates.

To clear up common public concerns, the Census Office has emphasized that all personal information collected by enumerators is handled with the strictest confidentiality, protected by the country’s Statistics Act. No individual responses will ever be shared with any unauthorized third party or external organization, so residents can share accurate information without fear of privacy breaches.

For easy identification by the public, all official enumerators will carry clear, verifiable credentials: they will wear branded official census vests, display government-issued photo ID cards specific to the census, and be equipped with census-provided tablets, branded census bags, and an official authorization letter issued directly by the Census Office.

Alongside expanding field operations, the Census Office is ramping up public education and outreach efforts over the coming week. Senior census officials will make scheduled appearances across multiple local media outlets throughout Antigua and Barbuda, giving residents a dedicated opportunity to learn more about the enumeration process, ask questions about procedures or privacy protections, and get the latest updates on the progress of field work.

The 2025 national census operates under the official theme “Mapping the Present, Shaping the Future,” a slogan that reflects the exercise’s core purpose of documenting current population and housing trends to build better long-term growth for the nation. Census leadership has expressed sincere gratitude for the public’s patience and cooperation during the post-election resumption, and stressed that the overall success of the count depends entirely on the full participation and support of every resident across the country. Residents with questions or concerns can reach census officials by phone at 562-7495, 562-7492, or 462-4775.