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British Military Helicopter Crash Lands in
Maxboro
 This heap of smoking
rubble is all that’s left of a British Bell 212 helicopter that crashed
in an empty shrimp pond at Nova Farms. The area where it crashed is
south of the Maxboro Community. It’s a vast dry and flat area and
watchman R. Vasquez says two or three times a week sees British
helicopters doing flying drills in the over the dry ponds. But today it
appeared that practice drill went terribly wrong.
R. Vasquez, Watchman “So I was in the tower when I saw the helicopter go up and then come down again. They were practicing. I only saw that the helicopter came down but they didn’t land on the ground, they only came down and then go up again. They did it like three times when that accident happened. Yes he put the nose first and then he crashed into the sand. So when I saw suddenly the helicopter crashed, it dropped into the sand and crashed and then the fire came off.” Read More MINISTRY OF HEALTH ADVISES BELIZEANS TO
TAKE PROPER
HEALTH PRECAUTIONS Now that
the threat of Hurricane Felix has passed, it is
necessary that proper health precautions are taken.The Ministry of
Health advises all Belizeans to ensure that their surroundings are kept
clean and to bag any garbage that have been gathered during the time of
stay in the shelters. Garbage bags are to be placed in a
designated
storage area for proper disposal. It is important that upon
returning
home to check expiry dates of canned food. In order to prevent
food
poisoning, discard all cooked or refrigerated food that has been off
refrigeration for at least six hours. It is also very important
to
note that before using stored water to ensure that it was not
contaminated by rodents or other sources of contamination. Read
More
ACTING LABOUR COMMISSIONER ADDRESSES
EMPOLYEES CONCERNS
During the threat of
Hurricane Felix
Love F-M’s
newsroom received numerous calls from employees complaining about their
employers.Many employees said they were threatened to be fired if they
left work to secure their family and property in the approach of the
storm. This morning Love News spoke with Acting Labor
Commissioner,
Aldelfino Vasquez.Vasquez says that the laws of Belize do not specify
when an employer should send the employee home but in cases as such
discretion should be used.
Aldelfino Vasquez,Acting Labor Commissioner: “While the law is silent on that aspect,I am of the opinion that once the first phase of the hurricane is put out,then what must happen is that the employer must make sure that all his property is secure and then after that,release his workers to secure their property,so there would be adequate time.For example,in this case right now as we speak,I don’t think that the employers should have kept his workers more than half a day Monday;because from in the morning,Belize was under hurricane watch already.So the most obvious thing was for the employers to secure their property and then allow their workers to leave to secure their property.” And while the employer may release his or her staff to make necessary arrangements in the event of emergencies, the employer is not obliged to pay the days the employees is off from work. Aldelfino Vasquez,Acting Labor Commissioner: “Under Section 32 of the Labor Act,it is clear that where the employer is obligated to provide employment everyday for everybody,and that employment is frustrated or the performance of that employment is prevented by an act of God,this is what the law says.By an act of God,then the employer is not obligated to make payment for the day that the individual worker did not work.And in this case,we consider that the threat of a hurricane is an act of God and in such,that does not provide or does not give the employer the responsibility to pay his employees for the days that they were out because of the hurricane.” Vasquez said that though the laws are in place, with the number of complains reported to the labor department it can be that consideration be given to amend these. Aldelfino Vasquez,Acting Labor Commissioner: “There is no release under the law when these things happen now,and it has become obvious where there is not a very good working relation between the employer and the employee.We now have to begin to think about legislating to accommodate those conditions and may get mandatory so that when it happens we will have recourses,but at this point in time there is no recourse under the law other than the Industrial Relations Practice to advise the employers that it is their workers and it is the security of their workers and their families that make their business run.So there is where the employer must use his better judgment and say look,we will work until now.Nevertheless,we need to understand that there are other situations.For example,the people who have businesses that are supplying the daily food value that people eat everyday.The other shops that provide the groceries,would it be practical for them to close at twelve o’clock on Monday when there were a lot of people looking for food that would last them for the next three days?So there is not a clear cut line that defines it.So we have to look for all these elements to make sure that there is equity between the worker and the employer.” Vasquez advices that if any employee feels that he or she was abused by the employer, such employees should visit their district labor department to present a formal complaint. Read More NOTICES/LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
So, we’ve had two evacuations within a period of only two weeks… Although I chose to stay and ride out the eventual hurricanes in my home, I completely understand the many thousands who chose to leave the island with their families. Anyone who has experienced the devastation done by a major storm will understand this. My concern is that many of the people who evacuated are workers with very little money. On top of the high costs of evacuating, these people are, in most cases, also facing a lack of income for the days they have been gone and the days their work place was shut down. Thousands of workers and their families are now in the situation that while the hurricanes didn’t hurt them, they are suffering a financial loss that can be very hard to get over, and I think that this could qualify as a small tragedy in the wake of the large potential tragedy we were all facing. My suggestion is that employers, town board and government start looking more into this problem, as we are unfortunately likely to be facing many more evacuations in the years to come. I know that some will say that it is everyone’s own responsibility to put money aside for such situations, but I will not bring that argument to a worker who makes $BZ 250. - a week and have to feed a couple of kids and pay rent from this money. Here are a few suggestions: 1. When NEMO recommends evacuation, employers should pay staff for the first 3 days after evacuation has taken place. Pay (along with scheduled pay) should be made upfront, and no later than the morning of the day of evacuation. 2. Staff who do not return to work within 48 hours after an official “coast is clear” statement from government and NEMO, can be deducted the 3-day pay by employer. 3. If employer decides to close down business because of a hurrican threat, the 3-day rule should also be in effect. 4. Town board should designate 5% of annual trade license fees to a fund for workers who do not receive this pay, and then charge the amount from the employer. 5. Upon issue of a license to any commercial boat operation, it should be specified that in the event of a government issued hurricane watch and a NEMO recommended evacuation, such operations must transport people at reduced rates. I am not into suggesting additional burdens to the businesses of the island (it is bad enough as it is!), but I do suggest that we all stick together in bad times – and that we all take care of the people who are working hard during the good times, making business possible… Ebbe Weile #####
The Ambergris Caye
Chamber of Commerce meeting scheduled for Thurs, Sept 6th, has been
postponed to Thursday, Sept. 13th. 12 Noon at Blue Water
Grill. See you then! Jan Brown THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
Setting too good an example is a kind of slander seldom forgiven Benjamin Franklin |
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 www.grandcaribe.bz debbiewade@gmail.com
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