Labor tensions between management and workers at the Redy Call Center on new road spilled over unto the street this afternoon.
Redy Call is a newly opened customer service call center located at the former Belize City office of Intelco on New Road. When we visited, many of the company's 140 employees were up in arms because they haven't been paid. They were actually supposed to have been paid yesterday but they weren't and when their pay still didn't come through today, as you might expect, it was a situation ripe for confrontation.
7NEWS was on the scene and while most of the employees who are fresh out of high school were too scared to go on camera, Miliania Cayetano spoke out and she told us that instead of getting paid, they are getting played.
Milania Cayetano, Employee at Redy Call
"We're supposed to get paid on the 15th and 30th of every month. Today is the 16th and since yesterday there has been no money in the bank, today is the 16th and there is still no money, and more than likely tomorrow the 17th there is still going to be absolutely no money in the bank. The fired two young ladies because they went to inquire about their pay and it is an injustice because it is not like we are getting paid a whole lot of money to be behaving like that. Secondly we are not begging them to give us anything. We come here we work and that is our hard earned money and we have kids, we have bills, we have families that we need to feed and they are not giving us anything."
Keith Swift,
But is a day delay that bad?
Milania Cayetano,
"If it was the first time it wouldn't be bad but it has been happening and we ain't with it."
Lloyd Godoy, Supervisor at Redy Call
"What has happened is that there were errors made. Last month the first time it happened there was an error made not on our part and we tried to clarify that with the staff but everybody was kind of antsy because the pay was not in and they were not really listening to what had taken place. We are very surprised that it has gotten to this point because we have been trying to inform them. What this place is doing is giving jobs to a whole lot of Belizeans and I might add they are young Belizeans and for many of them this is the first time they've ever had a job so I understand why they are behaving this way. But if they would understand that if they continue to do good, they would be a lot more jobs for Belizeans. By December we want to have at least 400 jobs for these people but they are not working with us.
These people will get their pay by today. We have already contacted the bank and the boss is going to verify some information but she can't get away because everyone has questions and she can't do more than one thing at once."
Despite those assurances from Lloyd Godoy who is a supervisor at the Redy Call Center when we checked just before news time the employees had still not been paid. The Redy Call Center is owned by a South American investor.
