According to insiders, staff morale at Digicel has slumped to an all-time low under new management. Photo: TCI Sun

On Thursday, October 13, 2016 Mrs. Sheba Wilson, chairperson of the Immigration Board, visited Digicel's office on Leeward Highway, Providenciales, and formally served notice that the permits, including those of some senior Digicel managers, will be revoked.

"The Board has a right to do so," Wilson said. "We’re doing it in the interest of the public. We feel that in this instance, the process was unfair to Turks and Caicos Islanders. We believe that the skill sets are here and that our people should have remained on the job and the work permit holders, more so, should have been the ones to be made redundant.”

She added that Digicel has 30 days in which to respond to the notice in writing and the Board has to take into consideration the representation which the company makes.

"Then a decision will be made with regard to those permits. We have to act with the confines of the law, but at the end of the day the (Immigration) Board's mandate is to ensure that we protect Belongers. So far there’ve been six (revocations) but I understand that they’re not done with their redundancy exercise, so there maybe more. We will deal with them as they come,” Wilson said.

According to insiders, staff morale at Digicel has slumped to an all-time low under new management. The working environment at Digicel has been classified by staff as "a plantation", and there have been reports of racism and victimisation on the part of certain managers.

A recent staff survey gave Digicel's operations in the Turks and Caicos Islands an extremely bad report; one of the lowest in the company's Caribbean operations.

Such low ratings and complaints by staff in a previous report, were among the reasons which forced the sudden departure of Erick Staaf in September 2015, after the company's owner and CEO Denis O'Brien made a surprise to the Turks and Caicos Islands and was reportedly shocked and appalled by what he found and what was reported to him.

Staaf was replaced by Sinead O'Marcaigh, whose management style and attitude, according to staffers, has contributed to the declining morale, the deterioration of the company's corporate image and a souring and breakdown in its once excellent relations with key stakeholders throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.

After the news of the redundancies broke, there were widespread criticisms country-wide about Digicel's handling of the exercise.

When asked by The SUN has there been a freeze on permits for Digicel TCI, she added: “We will not be looking at any new applications for Digicel given what has happened here. Like I said, at the end of the day a company has a right to make decisions in its best interest, but we also have a right to make decisions in the best interest of our people and our country and if you’re going to do a redundancy exercise under the laws of Turks and Caicos, the Belonger should be the first to be given the opportunity to remain, not persons who have been invited here on work permit. A work permit is a privilege and so we can’t allow persons to come here on work permit and remain here when there’s a redundancy exercise and clearly there’re Belongers who were let go who possess the necessary skills to do the work that Digicel has, so we’re standing our grounds on this.” 

Wilson said that the Immigration Board will be scrutinizing work permit applications from other companies to ensure that they are not marginalizing Belongers.

“Definitely when applications would come in to us we will be looking for any loopholes that may exist," she added. "We’re going to act in the best interest of Turks and Caicos Islanders. I encourage Turks and Caicos Islanders who may have seen those ads and made application to inform us, because we need to know that you’ve applied. We need to have your resume to backup our decisions, so you have a part to play also in that process." 

Meantime, in a press release, Digicel sought to downplay the seriousness, timing and implications of the redundancy exercise, by stating, among other things, that it recently promoted two locals, Louis Caser (Propositions Director), and Denise Saunders (as sales director), the sister of Jay Saunders, the company's first and most successful CEO, who parted with the company under what was widely regarded as unfair circumstances.

The press release, which was issued by Takara Bain, the company's public relations manager, stated "the restructuring process has naturally resulted in a small number of roles being made redundant".

It stated: "That said, over the past six months, there have been a number of promotions and this trend continues with a number of significant announcements of promotions to our Senior Leadership and Management levels; whilst we continue to enhance our training programs to build the capabilities of our entire organization." 

In the release, Sinead O Marcaigh, CEO of Digicel said, “The restructuring exercise has been advised to the Labor Commission and that those employees whose positions are being made redundant are being really well treated. All statutory obligations are being exceeded and significant ex gratia payments are being made to recognize the service, tenure and dedication of those staff members involved.” 

She added: "While restructuring in an organization, it allows new jobs to be created and opportunities for promotion from within. This also brings difficult decisions when roles change and become redundant. Over the past 6 months there have been six promotions and this trend continues with a number of significant announcements of promotions to our Senior Leadership and Management levels; whilst we continue to with our training programs to build the capabilities of our entire organization." 

In a press statement regarding the redundancies, former Chief Minister and leader of the Progressive Democratic Alliance, Oswald Skippings, said: "The oppressive plight of our people is already unbearable and is worsening by the day. The ongoing saga whereby Digicel is laying off Turks and Caicos Islanders and still have expatriate staff is unacceptable and should not be allowed to happen. Government should take every possible step to ensure that the company does not succeed with this travesty of justness. Turks and Caicos Islanders are continually being bastardized in their country and this oppression is resulting in the systematic alienation and disempowerment of our people, especially our youth."

He added: "This cannot be allowed to continue and government needs to use its powers to represent its people and ensure that justice and fairplay prevail and our people are protected on their jobs and elsewhere."