Workers at Leeward Island Security Specialists (LISS) are threatening “drastic measures” after months of unfulfilled promises to pay wages outstanding since September.
The warning came in an e-mailed letter from someone claiming to be employed by the firm, but the debt has been acknowledged by Patrick Meade, who told The Daily OBSERVER yesterday that he resigned from the post of managing director for health reasons.
When the newspaper first contacted Meade just over two weeks ago, he still held the post.
Meade is the only person named in the document. He is being advised to shut down the company if he cannot pay wages.
“They cannot afford to pay us Antiguans, yet still they are hiring Jamaicans and sorting out work permits for them. This needs to stop. We are tired of all the lies. We have been going in to the accounts and asking them to give us $100 or $200 for us to get something so our families can at least get a meal and they still having problems because they are claiming there is no money to pay salaries,” the document added.
The e-mailer told The Daily OBSERVER that LISS even sent staff home without vacation pay during Christmas and that up to yesterday the wages had still not been paid.
In confirming LISS’ struggle with cash, Meade said it was inaccurate to say that the company has kept all the employees’ wages and that part payments have not been made. He added that the company was in process of securing new capital to help cover business shortfalls.
Meade also directed this newspaper to Bernard Wong his successor, but Wong was said to be out of the country and unavailable for comment.
