BWS Workers Union failed to support former employees during investigation

Don Gillett

Furthermore, the terminated employees say they are aggrieved by the fact that the Belize Water Services Workers Union, to which they were all members serving in various capacities, failed to support them during the investigation.  Instead, they were thrown under the bus by the president of the union.

Don Gillett, Former Employee, BWS

“On March sixteenth of this year we had an audience with the N.T.U.C.B. explaining the abandonment by our former union.  Nonetheless, we received nothing more than a promise saying that they will investigate the matter.  To date nothing has been communicated to us.  Thus, our attorney has filed an official complaint into the actions of our former union to the N.T.U.C.B., and the tripartite body for action against B.W.S.W.U.  Ladies and gentlemen we were not only wronged by the company, we were also wronged by the union.  They should have fought for us in what is an obvious case of unlawful termination, instead they rubber stamped the company’s decision.  The then president at the time, Laurelee Westby, agreed with management and even went as far as to help the company against us by submitting a statement to the court supporting management’s bogus redundancy defense, although completely uncorroborated by the evidence that we were indeed terminated as part of a redundancy exercise.  We have suffered and continue to suffer due to the actions of our own union and the unlawful actions of B.W.S.  Our reputations have been tarnished.  Thus, all of us, except one, have been unable to regain employment due largely to the fact that we are questioned about what happened at B.W.S. in our interviews, since they did not give us any recommendations and went as far as to instruct members of staff not to give us any.”