Mayor Wally on Lawsuit by Ex-Employees against the Council

Earlier today, a News Five team was on Ambergris Caye for the sustainable child friendly municipality billboard launch in San Pedro Town. We’ll have that later on in the newscast. But, we got an opportunity to speak with Mayor Gualberto Nunez about the lawsuit brought against the council by former employees who say that they are waiting for their severance. About a week ago, attorney Orson Elrington, on behalf of his clients, told the media that they entered an agreement with the town council that they would accept a fifty percent pay cut until the finances at the town hall returned to normal. The former employees want their funds reimbursed and their severance calculated at full pay or else. Today, Mayor Wally Nunez says the council won’t pay.

Gualberto “Wally” Nunez

Gualberto “Wally” Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro Town

“They were paid their severance and vacation and everything based on what the labour department had advised us to do which is to have a formula on how to calculate their severance pay, their vacation pay and that was done. We have already checked with the labour department and the way it was done is correct. The claim that they are doing as well is that they are claiming the other half of their salary because they are saying that they were on a deferred payment, on a reduced salary and not a cut salary. And actually the employees are saying that yes they were on a cut salary and it was a verbal agreement given to them especially since it was lockdown and couldn’t get to actually work. But this is what they call in business force majeure – it is an act of God; nobody sent them home because we wanted to or at that time the council. It was because we are in a pandemic; we are in a lockdown and they have to understand that that’s the reason why they were sent home. There was no agreement that they were going to be paid the difference. I have gotten advice from different lawyers and the one dealing with our case at the moment, they also know that we will take the case seriously and if we have to go to court, we will go to court because we are not going to pay them.”