Media reps not paid since December
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEDIA workers of the popular Sugar City Roc 90.3 FM Radio Station are complaining that since December 2010 they have not received their monthly salaries.
According to informed sources, the radio station has nine employees and most of them, if not all, only received half of their salaries for December 2010 and are yet to be paid for January and February 2011.
SKNVibes contacted the radio station’s Manager, Eurick Dorset, who categorically stated “this is an internal and private matter” when asked to comment on the issue.
However, on condition of anonymity, one employee said, “The manager is always flying out of the country and it seems as if no one cares if we are paid or not. In December of last year, I was only paid half of my salary and this is the third month in 2011 and to date I have not received any money since then. How does Mr. Dorset expect me to survive when the cost of living is daily increasing? I have bills to pay and mouths to feed.”
This publication was also in contact with the owner of the radio station, Valentine ‘Val T’ Thomas, who is currently undergoing advanced medical treatment in the United States of America.
Thomas said he was informed of the situation and he too is having problems in receiving money on time. He stated that an arrangement was made for Dorset to pay him a monthly sum of money for the leasing of the radio station, but on most occasions it arrives very late.
“Every time I get the money from Dorset for the leasing of Sugar City Roc, it comes late. Two years ago, the radio station was leased to Dorset with the backing of Dr. Denzil Douglas. I had heard about Mr. Dorset but I never knew him personally, so everything was arranged by Dr. Douglas. However, if he cannot afford to pay the employees, it would be better for him to breach the contract and let me have my radio station,” Thomas said.
Thomas noted that while he was convalescing in the JNF Hospital, Dr. Douglas got wind of an arrangement he had planned to enter with local businessman Damian Hobson and offered him a better deal.
He however stated that problems arose after he was advised by his counsel that the Memorandum of Understanding to which he signed was flawed. To this end, Thomas said he had changed the locks on the doors of the radio station and an injunction, signed by Justice Francis Belle, was filed against him on Friday, June 12, 2009.
Thomas is of the view that the injunction was filed not only because of the changing of the locks, but mainly due to the fact of him putting the “Dupont Experience and Washie on the air and I also started to run meetings for the People’s Action Movement. I introduced a morning show, a 9-11 show, where you speak with members of the People’s Action Movement hosted by Denise Alleyne”.
He said the court issue is now history, but his main concern is the payment of the station’s employees.
“Everyone has to survive, and if one was employed on the condition of payment at an agreed period, then, by right that agreement should be honoured. I have been kept abreast of everything that is happening at the radio station. Sugar City Roc is capable of financing itself and the employees, but if mismanaged it cannot survive.
“I strongly believe that my late payment and the non-payment of workers’ salaries are the result of the stand I took when Mr. Dorset asked me to sell the radio station. I didn’t accept his proposal because I think the station is worth more than what he was offering. You see, Sugar City Roc had carried the Labour Party’s elections campaign for two long years and the radio station helped the party in winning those elections. However, from since that time, everything has gone wrong. I have had discussions with some of the staff at the radio station and they indicated that they were going to leave Sugar City Roc and work with Freedom Radio because of the fact that they feel much safer financially and that everything was going into disarray and guys were smoking drugs at the radio station,” Thomas said.
He further said that shortly before those members of staff had made their departure for Freedom Radio, they had asked his opinion on the matter and he gave them his blessings.
Thomas noted that a number of individuals were subsequently employed but payment had remained the major problem.
“The staff told me that they haven’t received money since December. They said the manager still owes them thousands of dollars, and that is among Kells, Magic and Germaine. So, there and then it tells me that something is wrong. If the radio station is making so much money and the workers cannot be paid, then the big question is…where is the money going?” Thomas asked.
He claims to have been told that the Labour Party owes the radio station tens of thousands of dollars while the government and the Carnival Committee are also debtors, and that “Dr. Douglas has indicated he would not put any more money into Sugar City Roc because it should be able to pay for its keep”.
Thomas said the radio station is now co-owned between himself and a very close friend who resides in the USA.
“Sugar City Roc is now owned by me and Tony Hendrickson, who has been a very good friend of mine for many years, and I think it is time for me to let him have some shares in the radio station because he means well and he can bring quality to Sugar City Roc. Therefore, I would like to reiterate that if Mr. Dorset cannot properly manage the radio station, then he should breach the contract and put Sugar City Roc back into capable hands.”
He said the contract ends in February 2012.
