Dean Boyce says B.T.L. employees stand to gain from Trust
dean boyce
The prospects look good for Telemedia employees, but we did not know how good. Trustee of the Employee Trust, Dean Boyce, told us what the value of the over twenty percent shares is worth.
Dean Boyce, Trustee, BTL Employees’ Trust
“The B.T.L. Employees’ Trust owns about twenty-three percent of the shareholdings of B.T.L. and it was important to get this judgment because it allows us to demonstrate to everybody the legitimacy of the trust and it enables us to talk more easily with the employees about how we are going to use the benefits that will arise from the twenty-three percent. In terms of the value—there have been a whole range of values that have been put out there—so I won’t go into the details of those specifics. But if you took a valuation of about five hundred million for the whole of the company, this trust will therefore be worth, after paying off the outstanding debts, about eighty-five million dollars.”
Marion Ali
“But it would have to be a collective agreement with them right? They would have to want this together.”
Dean Boyce
“Yes, well the next step is to talk with the employees about how we would utilize those founds, also to bring in a professional, a financial professional from an international organization that can come in to provide them with some advice about how similar trusts have been utilized in the past and certainly some of the staff are going to be wanting some cash initially, but they will also be looking at their long term future and trying to set aside some money in a safe investment for their futures.”
Marion Ali
“How easy do you think that process is going to be with the staff to work out those details?
Dean Boyce
“It will take a little time. I mean there are a number of options and I am sure each employee will want something a little specific for himself, but we might be able to create a fairly flexible arrangement that we can meet different groups of staff requirements—that best meet their particular needs at the time. It is for all employees and that’s probably about four hundred and fifty, five hundred of those employees that we are talking about. So this is eighty-five million, we would say, spread across those employees so this is fairly a substantial amount of money and these staff deserve it. They have worked hard over many years and they’ve put their life into the company and it’s only fair that they get a reward for that time.”
Marion Ali
“But there can be another appeal right, by the government?”
Dean Boyce
“To this latest case—where would they appeal to, to the Caribbean Court? There could be an appeal to the Caribbean Court, but they are therefore saying that they are disputing the three learned judges who are senior counsel from within the Caribbean and saying they’ve got it wrong. So, if that’s what they are prepared to say then sure they can appeal it; but that will just be stalling tactics and it is inevitable that they will have to make full payment. So, it will just be stalling. It won’t impact how we proceed and it won’t impact in time how the beneficiaries will benefit from this.”
Boyce says he expects the details of the ruling to be worked out in the next few months and that government will put up the majority of the shares for sale later this year.
