BTL Chairman Puts Price Tag on CCJ 2025 Severance Ruling

The Caribbean Court of Justice ruling handed down last year continues to carry major financial consequences for Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL).

During Friday’s press conference, BTL Chairman Markhelm Lizarraga confirmed that the company expects to pay between eleven and fifteen million dollars in severance to former employees, following the CCJ’s decision on severance rights.

The case began after retired BTL workers challenged the company’s long-standing position that pension benefits replaced severance pay. BTL relied on collective bargaining agreements and internal pension arrangements to support that view. However, former employees argued that this interpretation violated the Labour Act.

After decisions in the High Court and Court of Appeal, the dispute reached the CCJ, which ruled that severance is a statutory right and cannot be replaced by a pension unless it is clearly accounted for.

CCJ’s ruling forced BTL to compensate hundreds of former workers after years of legal dispute, which Lizarraga called an “unforeseen event” that the company is “honouring” already.

“For those that we have been informed are legally qualified to receive it, we will be dispersing; we’re going to be following the law,” Lizarraga added.

Meanwhile, former BTL employee Bernard Pitts Jr said the case was never only about money.

“The law is very clear on what severance is, and it is different from what a pension is. The issue really stem from when the CBA was amended to have the severance subsumed by the pension. That is not correct. And that was one of the things we were fighting for,” Pitts stated.