Last night we showed you twenty-odd security officers from the Fort Point Security Service who walked off their jobs at the Tourism Village, irate because they say they were cheated on their pay checks. Last word was that owner of Fort Point Mike Feinstein would write compensatory checks and settle the matter. But that didn’t work out – and tonight those security officers are still on an informal strike. And this morning we found out why. Their boss at Fort Point Carmen Zetina said that it’s not a dispute over money as much as it is a battle over payment procedure. Jacqueline Godwin found out more this morning.
Carmen Zetina, Temporary Assistant Manager – Fort Point Security Services
“I do not see the reason why these people have acted this way because they were spoken to, they were told what was happening.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Were you guys briefed about this new policy before it actually came into effect?
John Campos, Disgruntled Security Officer
“None at all. Jackie we are here working for 12 days and they came for their pay yesterday and got $148. That is chance Jackie man. If you are on salary, you are on salary. They can’t do that to anyone’s pay. They should only deduct Social Security and income tax, nothing else.”
It is day two and no agreement has been reached between the management of Fort Point Security Services and the employees. According to the management only twenty one of their one hundred and four security officers remain off the job, the security officers say that is not the case.
Jacqueline Godwin,
You’re saying this is not the case?
Gilford Magdaleno, Disgruntled Security Officer
“That is not the case Jackie. What happened is that this is approved here that all of those people, we have 64 names here, all those people are here today to protest in solidarity for all our people. We don’t like what is happening and we are protesting and hence the reason we are going to forward this to the union so that the union can represent us here.”
Today the company’s temporary assistant manager Carmen Zetina and the man who the security officers hold responsible for their dilemma told 7NEWS that the employees have not been treated unfairly and that there have been no pay deductions. According to Zetina he has been on the job for just over a month and the problem is that in the past the employees who get paid through the banks would not get their salaries on time.
Carmen Zetina,
“Workers used to go to the bank and they have a big delay in getting the bank and they fuss over the whole thing and not getting paid on time. The bank requires us, the company, to submit a payroll at least 48 hours before time and we decided to stop this cry, let’s make a policy or put a policy in place where we have a cutoff time for the payroll, giving us time to prepare the payroll and to submit it to the bank on time so that people can be paid on time on the 15th and at the ending of the month.”
The new cut off payroll dates are the tenth and twenty eight of each month what this means is that when the security officers received their checks on Tuesday, April fifteenth the pay was for the work they did from the first to the tenth. Any payment for work done after that will be added to the next paycheck. But as far as these security officers are concerned they are not asking for payment for work not done. They have worked up to the fifteenth and expect to be paid for it because they too have bills that are due.
John Campos,
“Everybody here work for a reason because we have families to feed and we have rent and we have bills. I collect $390 and I was supposed to get $640. What did my $250 get to?”
Carmen Zetina,
“The only time you will feel it is at the beginning. At the beginning you will feel it. That is the real truth about the whole thing, at the beginning you will feel it because of the change of policy, because of the cut off time. I understand the hardship you go through some time when you introduce policies. I know that when new policies are being made, sometimes they put people under stress. It is human alright.”
But at the same time Zetina says the security officers must comply with the new policy or resign.
John Campos,
“You have to pay 15th and ending everything, everything because Jackie enough is enough.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
You all want to be paid for the number of days you work? From the 1st to the 15th, and from the 15th to the ending? You don’t want to see nothing carried forward?
John Campos,
“Nothing.”
Carmen Zetina,
“Other people have vested interests especially in the area of the tourist village and these are the people who are undermining the system and working with these people, inciting them to go against management.”
According to Zetina they have done all they can to assist the security officers during this time by even offering them cash advances of one hundred dollars but the security officers say they do not want the money because it means they will now have one more loan to pay back.
Gilford Magdaleno,
“The next move is that we need a policy, written policy, not word a mouth, we need a written policy to share with all the officers here. No one here is slaves. That is over already, we need to work in harmony, we need a place conducive for people to work not dictatorship.”
The security officers say that until they can reach a suitable resolution they will not work and are now seeking to join a union to strengthen their position. Jacqueline Godwin for 7NEWS.
Late this afternoon, the Deputy Labour Commissioner Hertha Gentle went over to Fort Point to address both Zetina and the workers. And tonight, we can report that there is a resolution, if only an interim one. Our team is just back from that scene, and later on, we’ll have an interview with Deputy Commissioner Gentle and labour leader Jackie Willoughby to find out about what was worked out.
