A bombshell set of internal documents obtained by local outlet News Five has pulled back the curtain on unequal treatment of departing workers at Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), revealing a jaw-dropping gap between exit packages granted to top executives and long-tenured frontline staff. The investigation, first launched this Wednesday, has now centered on the case of a long-serving union activist whose terms of separation stand in stark contrast to those of a senior leader who left the company more than a decade ago. Investigative correspondent Shane Williams breaks down the disparities exposed by the official internal records.
Two official termination notices, both issued by the same state-linked utility provider, tell two wildly different stories of separation. Back in June 2011, a high-ranking BEL executive left the company with a cumulative severance and benefits package totaling more than half a million Belize dollars. The breakdown of the payout includes $45,000 for accrued unused vacation time, over $300,000 drawn from the company’s pension contribution pool, and a full year of salary as severance, valued at more than $156,000. No deductions were applied to this payout, and all owed compensation was disbursed in full per the executive’s exit terms.
Jump ahead to November 2023, and the experience of 31-year company veteran Sean Nicholas — a member of the advocacy group Belize Energy Workers for Justice — could not be more different. Nicholas was terminated on medical grounds after suffering two strokes on the job: the first in 2019, and a second in 2022, before he departed Belize for ongoing medical care in 2023. His exit statement shows unusual and costly deductions taken from his final payout: the company subtracted the cost of social security benefits he accessed during his stroke recovery leave, and adjusted his balance to account for his personal pension contributions outpacing the company’s contribution growth. Most notably, Nicholas’ exit package includes no severance payment at all — a stark departure from the six-figure severance granted to the 2011 executive. After all deductions were applied, Nicholas actually owed the company money upon his departure after 31 years of service.
Following the initial release of documents this Wednesday, News Five reached out to BEL leadership to request an explanation for the clear disparity between the two cases. In an official response released Thursday, BEL stated that all departing employee compensation is processed in line with the company’s internal policies and all applicable Belizean labor laws. The company added that personnel records are protected as private confidential information, and no further details on individual exit packages can be released without the explicit written consent of the former employees in question.
Looking ahead, other members of Belize Energy Workers for Justice are planning to release their own termination and exit package documents at a public protest scheduled for Friday morning at Belize City’s Michael Finnegan Market, where they will call for greater transparency and fair treatment of utility workers. This report comes from Shane Williams, for News Five.