Tola Mitsubishi employees upset at ‘unreasonable’ contracts
Several employees told Virgin Islands News Online that they were handed contracts late on the afternoon of December 16, 2013 and instructed through a staff memo to return the signed contracts to management by the following day.
Some employees contended that they were given their new contract around 5 P.M. and were not given enough time to review it properly and make an informed decision. Several employees also alleged that they were handed an ultimatum to sign the contract by the end of this week or be left without a job.
The employees have protested that the manner in which this was done is distasteful and insensitive and several have expressed their dissatisfaction in the way the new management has operated in this instance.
While some of the employees have signed the contracts and suggested they had no alternative given their circumstances, others have bluntly refused to sign and are showing no indication of doing so.
Other employees when approached also suggested that they had no issues with their contracts and signed willingly but it was reported that the majority of employees were unwilling to sign theirs.
Some of the employees suggested that they should have been given an alternative to be rehired by the new company and suggested that they should have been paid off by the previous management as well after the company was sold.
Terms and conditions unreasonable
Several employees are further outraged at the terms and conditions contained within the contracts seen by this news site and have cited some of them as being highly unreasonable.
One of the clauses under contention for instance can be found under the heading ‘Period of Employment’ and states ‘The Employer hereby engages the Employee and the Employee agrees to work for the Employer on the terms contained herein from the Commencement Date upon the terms and conditions appearing herein and terminating on the day of the 65th birthday of the herein signed employee.’
Another states that the employer may in its absolute discretion decide to pay to the employee a gratuity while another clause suggests that employees are not entitled to any pension regardless of their years of service with the company.
One concerned employee told this news site that they felt hurt by the way things played out and alleged that contracts were set up in a way for the new employers to be the only ones that benefitted from the arrangement.
Some of the employees also complained that their new contracts meant that they would be paid less than they were paid previously and cited this as unacceptable.
It was further suggested that the Labour Department should investigate the situation as some felt it was not handled appropriately.
One employee felt the general mood at the office was one of tension and indicated that some persons might have been afraid to speak up, prompting them to sign their contracts without protest.
It was disclosed that a meeting was called with senior management of the company after the contracts were distributed and employees expressed their concerns at this forum. Additional meetings are expected to be held between employees and management.
Attempts to contact former owner of Tola Mitsubishi, Mr Bruce Wong, for any comment he wished to make were unsuccessful up to post time.
Director of International Motors Ltd Mr Peter Sorrentino referred this news site to his brother, Mr Neville Sorrentino, who is reportedly dealing with the employees at Tola Mitsubishi. However, repeated attempts to contact him for a comment were also unsuccessful.
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31 Responses to “Tola Mitsubishi employees upset at ‘unreasonable’ contracts”
For some reason I felt something treacherous was going to happen. The new owners can write up any clause they want to. Even though they promised to keep the former employees, the new owner does not have to comply with the old rules of the former owner. There is always a underhanded clause when doing business. The employees should have had a week to submit to a lawyer if this was in their favor. Our poor people always getting the short stick.
The commencement date of employment for the carry-over staff from Tola is from the date of the new contract until they reach the age of 65 (unless otherwise terminated or resign prior). This being the case, it seems to me that they have forfeited all of their benefits including severance pay from the original company, Tola. Tola then, should have paid all staff their due severance upon transferring the company.
Persons should be given reasonable time to review any document before choosing whether or not to sign it. It sounds like they are being pressured to sign or leave.
While yes, there is a sense of gratitude that International Motors is keeping the staff, and we agree that the terms and conditions will not be the same as with Tola, it must be fair and balanced.
You keep the staff, reduce their wages, expand the company, make more money off of their backs, expect quality service - To get all of this, be fair in your dealings Sorrentino.
You need to wake up and try to better articulate what the heck you are trying to say.
Is the new law applied for both local and expat ?