Labour Departmen to Review Severance Claim

Minister of Labour, Kareem Musa, has responded to concerns raised by former employees awaiting severance payments, confirming that the Labour Department is now actively reviewing the matter.  His comments come in the wake of a public appeal made by former Belize Electricity Limited employee Dorla Staine, who is seeking assistance in securing severance benefits she says remain outstanding.  Musa says the Department is currently engaged in assessing the situation, including examining the relevant documentation tied to the case.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Labour: “As you rightly pointed out whenever there is a dispute between employer and employee in this particular case it is BEL and the workers union, the labor department has a review authority to review the particulars of the case. That is what is currently taking place at the moment thereafter if it is that the employer and from the sounds of it the employer wants to go further with legal action we just went through an entire CCJ case on similar facts and so I would want to see the difference in the two cases because I’m not convinced of the difference of that from what I am observing but BEL is saying that they’re not on all fours and so they want to challenge it and take it to the CCJ. You heard a very impassioned plea today. an emotional plea from one of the workers. I think we have to have a heart sometimes. We have to consider that these workers here are saying they were not paid severance. It’s either a yes or a no that they were paid severance. Some cases do not have to go to the CCJ, that’s going to take years and Ms. Stain cannot go through a CCJ, go through the high court, then the court of appeal and then the CCJ. So I am imploring on them as the Minister of Labor let us look at it to see how it is that we can accommodate because from what they’re saying they were not paid their severance.”

The Minister explained that the process involves a careful review of employment records and any agreements in place, as officials work to determine the appropriate course of action.

In a second response, Musa emphasized that cases of this nature are not one-size-fits-all, noting that each matter must be evaluated on its own merits.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Labour: “Each case is different because in this particular case I believe BEL is saying that some of the pension that they contributed amounts to the severance, BTL was not saying that. And so when you look at different companies and how they approach severance it’s different. So it cannot be a generalized position coming out of the Labor Department. They have to review each and every single case and make a determination based on that.”

Reporter: But can you go in and review records and at least see well okay this is what actually happened ? Because the employees themselves, former, are saying that in the letters there was no line item saying “severance “

Kareem Musa, Minister of Labour: “I do believe that is what the Labor Department will do yes.”

Musa added that the Labour Department has the authority to request and review all pertinent documents in order to ensure that any decision made is fair and grounded in the law.