Former BEL Employee Appeals for Severance

A 68-year-old former employee of the Belize Electricity Limited is appealing for assistance in securing her long-overdue severance, as she faces mounting medical expenses.  Dorla Staine made the public plea over the weekend during the Labour Day activities hosted by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, including an address delivered at Birds Isle on Friday. In her remarks, Staine called on both the Opposition and the Ministry of Labour to intervene and help her obtain what she says is owed to her.  Staine, who retired from BEL several years ago, told supporters that the delay in receiving her severance has placed her in a difficult financial position, particularly as she now struggles to cover ongoing medical costs.

Dorla Staine, Former BEL Employee: “I have lost, as I stand here, while BEL is holding our money I have lost a kidney already and am fighting for the other one. I am 68 years old. You think it’s easy ? It’s not. So I made that appeal and also Sister Tracy, Honorable Tracy I appeal to the opposition also because everybody is important. So if the government is falling down the opposition is there to catch them up. Please speak on our behalf in that house. It is not right. It was passed, the CCJ made a ruling and so on the BLT matter. BEL the company that I worked falls in that same thing. We’ve been to a meeting Friday last week while we are appealing to them. You have certain groups in the country, you have the young, you have the old that are vulnerable and to be truthful we find it a little hard that we find ourselves standing by ourselves out there when a ruling has been made for us already. And a company is looking us in the face and telling us that they are going to go to court on a matter that has already been ruled. So again Minister I don’t know where you stand with it but we are here pleading to you please don’t put us through that. Some of us will die out there and I can tell you BEL doesn’t have nothing named a heart.”

In her address, Staine spoke candidly about her situation, urging authorities to step in and ensure that former workers are treated fairly and receive the benefits due to them.