On Friday the Belize Health Partners Hospital, formerly Universal Health Services fired 12 workers, including the Hospital’s TAMM Union President Barrington Montero and the union’s secretary. Montero said it was a blatant attempt at union busting and yesterday the Trade Union Congress of Belize accused the Health Care Partners of acting in bad faith. So what does the Health Care Partners management have to say? Well it amounts to a “my bad” – as CEO and Medical Director Dr. M. Venugopal told Keith Swift he simply didn’t know Barrington Montero was the President of the Union.
Dr. M. Venugoapal, CEO – Belize Health Care Partners
“We are not trying to bust a union. We are trying to reorganise. We took over an institution that was not making money, bankrupt, and like any management, or even a government change they keep some people, they let go of some people, they bring in their own people. All we are trying to do is make our operation more cost efficient. And the people who were let go, unfortunately happened to be union members or officers. But we still have 96 union members still working with the institution. So we are not making any condition of employment that you can’t be a union member or we will find some way to let you go. We haven’t done any of those things. So it is unfair to say that we are trying to union bust, we are just trying to turn the institution around and be able to provide cost effective healthcare for the Belizean population.”
Keith Swift,
Sir but did you know Mr. Barrington Montero was the president of the union?
Dr. M. Venugoapal,
“No I didn’t know because I didn’t talk to him directly. But if he is a union member and if he knew the labor laws he should have told Mrs. Craig that he is a union member and according to the union law to fire somebody we have to go through the union. He didn’t inform us of that. If he had informed us of that situation, we could have avoided all this unpleasantness.”
Keith Swift,
Sop the hospital accept it was wrong in terminating Mr. Montero?
Dr. M. Venugoapal,
“Not necessarily wrong, Mr. Montero does not fit our needs and our philosophy. But we were not aware of the labor law and so in that respect has put us at fault.”
Keith Swift,
12 people have been fired, will more go?
Dr. M. Venugoapal,
“It’s hard to say right at this time. We are still in the process of evaluating what our needs are.”
So will they reinstate Montero and the other workers? Dr. Venny says they are consulting with their lawyers. There are 96 other employees at the hospital who are members of the Technical, Administrative, Medical, and Managerial Workers’ Union (TAMM). In its release yesterday, the NTUCB asked the Ministry of Labor to intervene.
