Pay Our Severance: “We Worked, Sweat, Toil”

Former employees of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) are speaking out about the sacrifices they made during decades of service, as calls grow louder for severance payments they say are urgently needed to support their health and livelihoods.

Today marked the fourth protest by the Belize Communications Workers for Justice (BCWJ) outside BTL’s headquarters, as former staff continued to demand payment of severance they believe is owed.

Among them is Leticia Reyes, who worked at BTL for 26 years as a telephone operator and later in customer service. Facing serious medical challenges, she says her appeals to the company for help went unanswered. 

Over the years, she has undergone a gastric bypass, two heart surgeries, and suffered two strokes that now affect her speech and memory. “There’s a lot of us out here with health issues, like myself. I want them to consider us and to pay our severance,” Reyes said.

Another former employee, Patricia Bradley, spent 17 and a half years at BTL, working in customer service, sales support, and later at the call centre. Bradley says the long shifts and sacrifices made by staff helped build the company, often at the expense of family life. “Give us what we are due. We worked, sweat, toil, years, tears, pain. Just give us because it’s the law,” Bradley said.

Despite her frustrations, she acknowledged the opportunities BTL once offered, saying, “It’s a good place…an opportunity to grow and learn things.” She now runs a caregiving business and says severance would allow her to expand into food services.

BTL, in a statement, said that 98% of workers who filed claims under the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling have already been paid. The company noted that the CCJ ruling applied to claims not exceeding a six-year period.

Workers represented by BCWJ at today’s protest fall outside that ruling, as their claims exceed the six-year limit set by the court.