BEL Under Pressure Over Delayed Severance Fight

For former BEL employees who have been waiting years for severance payments, time is not on their side. Some are aging, others are battling illness, and all are still hoping for a final answer. But the legal process meant to help settle the dispute appears to be stalled. Labor Minister Kareem Musa is now calling out Belize Electricity Limited, saying the company promised to seek direction from the High Court within a month, but two months later, that still has not happened. Now, pressure is building on BEL to move the matter forward and bring closure to the former workers.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Labor

“Hundred percent that is wrong, because they had told me in a meeting that it would only take a month. And that was about two months ago that they were going to file the papers for a declaration in the High Court of Belize in that month. So that has gone way over a month and it should not be the case that we are waiting so long for a judicial matter where we can see that there are a lot of elderly, sick former workers of BEL. So I will press certainly from my end, and from the Ministry’s end for BEL to take the action so we can have a final determination of that.”

 

The BEWJ has not backed down from its demand for severance, continuing its push even as some members struggle with illness.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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