Tonight, the Belize Communication Workers for Justice are fuming. That's after another meeting with BTL executives.
Now, one week ago, the workers for justice were elated when the BTL leadership agreed to pay them their severance in a lump sum.
But, in a follow up meeting today - the Workers for Justice feel that they have gotten the rug pulled from under them - when the Executives said that payment would be without interest.
Former employee Emily Turner called it an act of bad faith hen she exited the meeting at the Labour Department:
Emily Turner, Former BTL Employee
"These discussions are not going, you know, are no longer being done in good faith. Last week, I think when we talked, when we spoke, we told you guys that we felt that, you know, we were, they were being genuine. It was being, it was being done in good faith. But we don't feel like we are there anymore. There are several, several reasons we feel that way, because when we asked them to go to the board and give us their, give us their ultimate position, we get something else. And when we ask for the ultimate position, we get something lower. So we always mean noble, noble. But, you know, and we have a very hard mandate to maintain that 6%. That's that's the mandate that we we got. And what we are trying to find ways to, to bring these negotiations and this settlement and not go to court."
"We will have to continue protesting because we're not making much leeway. We have offered to request, a meeting with the board of directors. And we don't want the subcommittee. We don't want a piece of the board. We want the full board, because the full board must listen to us, must understand what we are proposing, because I think they don't have the context of what we are proposing and the position that they take, because every time we sit in there, we keep on hearing that they believe that we have a statute of limitation. When the CCJ has ruled and paid people that are beyond six years. And this keeps being something that is brought up, these ten people at this board believe that they are over all of us. I'm starting to wonder if they serve at the Prime Minister's behest, or if it's the other way, because it seems like it's the other way, because I think we all have the recordings where the Prime Minister said that he believes we are supposed to be paid, and I'm sure he will not be saying that just out of thin air."
"We heard the Minister of Labor say with an attorney that we should be paid. Now we are hearing this. We have to be getting low balled in all of this. No."
We also heard from the Labour Senator, attorney Glenfield Dennison who's been sitting in on the meeting. He said BTL's leadership is not reading the room:
Glenfield Dennison, NTUCB Senator
"And I think Emily's feeling is my read of it too. I don't think it's in good faith, I think they are trying to get out of this with being to the people as least as possible, and that is not a favorable position for somebody who seems to don't understand that they have a PR problem. BTL, the board of Digi has a PR problem and they're not managing it at all. Like how you gonna tell the workers that the value that you were supposed to get in 1995, like we not we no want, we no want adjust nothing for you, but not if you take your money away from again, 1995 year. And you're right, Marisol, if if this was a corporate and the role was reversed, they would demand their 6%. So I think the workers and the leaders of the BCWJ are flexing and BTL is being inflexible. I don't know, I wish I could we are flying in that boardroom because I can't understand how they don't understand what's happening."
And to turn up the pressure on the Chairman, reports say that the BCWJ plans to protest in front of his home and business at Southside Meats in Belize City later this week.
