Fort Point Security Officers protested and spoke out against management last week, and this week they’re doing the same, but the argument and the pitch is different, because they’ve been fired. 6 days ago, sixty five employees walked off their jobs because they did not receive their full salary on the fifteenth of the month.
The Labour Department got involved and the workers were then advised to return to their jobs and assured that no one would have been fired. Well today we know at least six have received their letters of termination. The letter does not give any reason why the security officers are being terminated, stating only that their services are no longer required. And what’s more, some of the letters are not even signed by the company’s temporary Assistant to the Manager Carmen Zetina whose name appears on the document.
This morning we found them back on the streets and in front of the company’s headquarters. According to the security officers they’ve done nothing wrong since going back on the job and now they say they are being victimized for what they did last week.
Veronica Kerr, Received Letter of Termination
“I came from way off the road. I got up 4 in the morning to catch five o’clock bus to come down here to reach here for six. I didn’t expect this, working so hard for my money and this will be the result of what Zetina will do. I am surprised at him to be this type of way. I didn’t expect this out of him. And then what happened I am home and big Saturday I get this letter, they sent this letter for me. When I opened and I see, they say my services are no longer required. I want to know the reason why because it has no reason in this to tell me why my services aren’t required any more.”
John Campos, Received Letter of Termination
“Well so far it is six of us, six of us, and then they have more in the office to deliver for tomorrow for the result who were out here last week. He cannot fire us for nothing because the letter doesn’t state why they fired us. It doesn’t state why they fire us. What is the reason? And then we are waiting for him to come so we could sit down and talk to him but he hasn’t come none at all. The office is still closed.
Everybody out here has family to feed. We are working for a reason. We aren’t working for no Red Cross. We are not working for no Red Cross Jackie.”
Lisburn Magdaleno, Received Letter of Termination
“Well the point is that we are talking for our rights. Due to because
we talked for our rights, the man doesn’t like the idea. And he can’t stop that because we are Belizeans, we aren’t aliens. If we were aliens then it would be different because then we would have to stomach what he told us because first of all we wouldn’t have lived here if anything, if we were alien.
But since the letter the come now, what is his problem. We want to know what is his problem against the workers. I want him to come and tell us that. That is the part I want to know. Let him tell us why he fired us.
That man can’t just take us lightly. We are human beings, we need our money, we have kids. I have my daughter going to college, I got my son going to primary school. We can’t go and thief and give them something. No man, that is why we are working out here. The point is that we need to be united with the man but the man doesn’t want to be united with us.”
Sharon Connor, Received Letter of Termination
“Mr. Zetina says he wasn’t going to fire anyone and he made us feel secure like everything was alright. I worked the Thursday, I came off the Thursday and then they told me I would be off for three days. I came back Monday morning and this is what I meet, a letter. It is not giving me no kind of reason why they fired me or anything. They just said they don’t need my story anymore.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Besides that even giving you the reason why you’re being terminated, there is no signature on that letter.
Sharon Connor,
“No signature, none at all.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So why you feel you guys are being fired?
Sharon Connor,
“Well because we protest against what he was doing because if you work two weeks, you expect your two weeks pay and I don’t think it is right for you to just come and take that out of somebody’s pay and not even have the decency to say this is what they are doing, I guess he supposed to be somebody organized and professional to know what he is doing. I think he needs somebody like we, how they say cruffy fi come from behind and tell him he is doing wrong. He knows exactly what he is doing.”
We were unable to reach Assistant Manager Carmen Zetina for comment and the main office was closed when we visited. We did speak with acting Deputy Labour Commissioner Hertha Gentle who told us that she cannot discuss the specifics of the case and could only say that today they handed the company the results of their investigation into the salary deductions. That letter contains specifies a time period in which the company has to respond.
As for the latest developments, Gentle says six security officers who were terminated paid them a visit and they are now investigating those firings.
