By Breaking Belize News Staff: The Belize Communications Workers for Justice (BCWJ) has renewed its opposition to Belize Telemedia Limited’s proposed $80 million acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited, operator of SMART, calling on BTL to disclose the evidence supporting the transaction and account for unresolved obligations to former employees.
In a press release issued August 12, BCWJ said Belizeans should be given sufficient information to independently assess what BTL is actually purchasing, what additional investment could be required and what the acquisition could mean for competition, consumers and workers.
The group is demanding detailed information supporting the $80 million purchase price, including multi-year audited financial records, an independent valuation, an assessment of Speednet’s technology and infrastructure, anticipated integration costs and an analysis of the possible effect on competition, service quality and consumer choice. BCWJ is also calling for a worker-impact plan detailing possible duplication of positions, protections for employees and potential redundancy costs.
BCWJ also tied the proposed acquisition to its long-running dispute with BTL over benefits allegedly owed to former employees. According to the organization, attorneys representing 146 former BTL workers issued a formal Pre-Action Protocol Letter on August 10 concerning claims for statutory severance and gratuity. The letter seeks an individual accounting of each claim, including calculations, pension offsets and the legal basis for claims that have been rejected.
The former workers have previously staged protests over severance payments and interest allegedly owed following their separation from BTL. In March, BCWJ members demonstrated at the National Assembly, maintaining that they were entitled to severance as well as interest dating back to their respective dates of separation.
BCWJ says the individual workers’ claims will now proceed through the appropriate legal process and it will not litigate those cases publicly. However, the organization argues that whether BTL has properly quantified and provided for those potential obligations is relevant when assessing an investment of this magnitude.
The group is calling on BTL, Cabinet, the Social Security Board and the Public Utilities Commission to ensure that the financial assumptions, audited information, independent valuation, technology assessment, worker impacts and existing liabilities are adequately addressed before the transaction receives final endorsement or approval.
The statement comes amid growing opposition to the proposed acquisition. The Belize Communications Workers’ Union announced this week that 84 percent of members participating in an August 6 meeting no longer support the acquisition as currently proposed, reversing earlier support among BTL employees.
BTL’s Board voted on August 4 to advance the acquisition of 100 percent of Speednet’s issued share capital for approximately $80 million, with the proposed transaction remaining subject to further due diligence and finalization of the Share Purchase Agreement.
Cabinet has been receiving presentations from stakeholders and has announced that it intends to deliberate and state its position on the proposed acquisition at its meeting on Tuesday, August 18.
BCWJ says its position remains straightforward: complete the due diligence, disclose enough evidence for independent scrutiny, account for outstanding worker obligations and allow both regulators and the Belizean public to properly evaluate the transaction before a final decision is made.
The post Former BTL workers demand proof behind $80 Million Speednet deal, raise unresolved severance claims appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: The Belize Communications Workers for Justice (BCWJ) has renewed its opposition to Belize Telemedia Limited’s proposed $80 million acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited, operator of SMART, calling on BTL to disclose the evidence supporting the transaction and account for unresolved obligations to former employees. In a press release issued August
The post Former BTL workers demand proof behind $80 Million Speednet deal, raise unresolved severance claims appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
