Labour Department finds Ready Call in violation of laws

On yesterday’s newscast we brought you the story of Ready Call, the international customer service operation on New Road that is being hit with a long list of local complaints ranging from unacceptable bathroom facilities, incorrect wage payments, inadequate lunch breaks, and sexual harassment. This afternoon, the Labour Department issued a press release maintaining that it is not dragging its foot on its investigations into the allegations. According to labour officials, officers have been on the case since August of last year and are in constant communication with the management of Ready Call. But Acting Deputy Labour Commissioner Shawn Morgan did admit to us that while the owners of Ready Call have made some changes, they are still in violation of certain sections of the labour law.

Shawn Morgan, Acting Deputy Labour Commissioner
?As far as we know, right now sections 121 and 100 of the Labour Act needs some changes in the Ready Call situation. These sections deal with the lunch break in particular and the periodicity of payment of wages. We have informed Ready Call that they need to appeal to the Labour Commissioner for him to make a ruling on this since there is a proviso in the law that he can offer them some other alternative means of addressing these issues.?

Janelle Chanona
?What about the tougher issue of the sexual harassment allegations??

Shawn Morgan
?The sexual harassment … we, the labour department have brought that to their attention as well and management has assured us that they have been addressing that as well and have been telling their employees, managers down that this will not be tolerated in the workplace and as a result if anything should come up about this, it can be placed in the hands of the police. I know that they have assured us that they are addressing this issue.?

Janelle Chanona
?We?ve also heard allegations of the workers saying that if they join a union, they will be fired. Are you all looking into that too??

Shawn Morgan
?We have seen union members, we were there yesterday as a matter of fact and we have seen union leaders there. I don?t know what their purpose was, but what I can tell you is that I know that one union in particular has addressed the chairman of the tripartite committee in order to get the workers there unionised. I am not sure if that?s a reality, but of course through the chairman of the tripartite body, the Labour Department can and will look into this matter as well.?

Janelle Chanona
?But no worker should be fired just because they want to form a union??

Shawn Morgan
?No, definitely not.?

We understand tonight that some workers have expressed an interest in aligning themselves with the Belize Communication Workers Union.