Nearly 150 former employees of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) are taking their long-running dispute over unpaid and insufficient severance compensation to the court system, marking a new escalation in a conflict that has left hundreds of former workers without agreed-upon separation pay. The collective legal action, organized by Emily Turner of the advocacy group Belize Communication Workers for Justice, brings together 146 former staff members who say they have exhausted all informal avenues to resolve their claims with the telecommunications firm, forcing them to retain outside legal representation from the Trinidad and Tobago-based firm Virtuous Chambers. Turner outlined three distinct groups of wronged workers that make up the current lawsuit: employees who received partial severance but were denied the mandatory 6% interest owed from the date of their separation, workers who submitted formal claims as requested by BTL but never received any response despite repeated follow-ups, and former staff who were arbitrarily disqualified from receiving any severance pay at all without clear justification. “Former workers have tried every possible route to settle this fairly,” Turner explained in remarks prepared for a televised newscast. “Many submitted proof of their employment start dates, shared their social security contribution histories, and presented all the required documentation to verify their claims, but holding BTL accountable has proven an almost impossible task.” On Tuesday, the newly retained legal team sent BTL a formal pre-action protocol letter, notifying the company of the 146 claims and demanding full transparency around all employee records related to the dispute. Under the terms of the letter, BTL has seven calendar days to acknowledge receipt of the notice, and 30 days to turn over complete documentation for every individual claim included in the legal action. The dispute over BTL severance pay has been an ongoing issue for former employees for months, with many workers reporting that the company has failed to honor its original commitments on separation compensation. For workers who have already waited years for the pay they are owed, the court filing represents the only remaining path to securing what they say is rightfully theirs.