In a significant legal development, the Court of Appeal has delivered a 2:1 majority decision favoring the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines regarding its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public sector workers. This ruling overturns the March 2023 High Court judgment by Justice Esco Henry, which had declared the mandate unlawful and unconstitutional.
The appellate decision was supported by Justices of Appeal Eddy Ventose and Paul Webster, while Justice of Appeal Gerhard Wallbank provided a dissenting opinion. Justice Wallbank contended that the government’s regulations, which prohibited unvaccinated individuals from entering the workplace and deemed them to have abandoned their jobs—thereby affecting their pension rights—were both unlawful and unconstitutional.
The legal team representing the dismissed workers, led by attorney Jomo Thomas, expressed disappointment with the majority decision. In a press release, they stated, “We believe that Justice Wallbank was correct in his dissent and that the High Court decision issued by Justice Henry was strongly grounded in a correct interpretation of the law.” The team plans to thoroughly review the judgment and discuss potential next steps with their clients, including the possibility of appealing to the Privy Council.
This case has been a focal point of national debate since the government’s implementation of the vaccine mandate in 2021, which led to the dismissal of several public sector employees who chose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The initial High Court ruling in March 2023 had been seen as a victory for these workers, declaring the government’s actions as breaching natural justice and constitutional rights.