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This morning we caught up with some the employees who were waiting outside the gates, and they told us they want answers:

Andrea Polanco Reporting
This was what it looked like this morning in front of the National Transport compound at two and a half miles on the Western Highway. About thirty employees, looking very dejected and unsure of what to do hung around in front the chained gates hoping to get a word about their jobs and the pay that is due to them.

Assistant Operations Manager, Francisco Flores told us that they have been locked out of their bread and butter:

Francisco Flores, Assistant Operations Manager - NTSL
"I am here with some of my co-workers wait8ng to see if we do have a job anymore because so far the Belize Bank has come in and just shut down the operation from all of us and we are left naked, we dint even hear from them what will be the situation after this."

Andrea Polanco
"The gate have a big padlock on it, everything is lock down here out here."

Francisco Flores, Assistant Operations Manager - NTSL
"Oh yes, we are lock out of our bread and butter, actually that is our bread and butter right there and we have been lock out and so we don't know where to go now."

Andrea Polanco
"Friday you all were suppose to get paid, did you get any money since?"

Francisco Flores, Assistant Operations Manager - NTSL
"Not as yet, nobody get pay yet all the monies were there for the workers to get paid and nothing have been receive yet. The bank just ceases everything."

These employees out here represent just a fraction of the two hundred and seventy five left jobless when the company went into receivership on Friday. But what they want to know right now is when they are going to be paid:

Jimmy Valdarez, NTSL Employee
"I have about 6 years working for National Transport and from since I work here I get my ham every year but since the bank take over we don't see any ham this year. So we want to know if they will pay us for us to get our ham or for us to see what we will do."

Trying to follow the proper procedure to get their salaries, the employees said that they will seek legal action if needs be, but they will not allow their monies to be played with even if it means demonstrating:

Employee
"What we are planning to do is that our next move is to go to the labor department, see what they have to tell us and we will hear what they have to say, we the workers are planning to put some money together so that if we have to get a lawyer to fight our case - that is what we will do. If we have to sit down at Belize Bank - we will sit there to get our pay because this is not right."

Andrea Polanco
"I see a group of you in front here today, how long will you guys be here?"

Employee
"As long as it takes. We have to do something - make a stand. The first receivership, we just went home with nothing, this one will not happen to us this time, we need our money."

Andrea Polanco
"If this group plans to demonstrate, will you be there to?"

Jimmy Valdarez, NTSL Employee
"Definite, I will be the first one."

But until that takes place, the workers remain unemployed and without jobs. And for some of them, the anger is rising and patience is running out, and this is so because like this employee puts it, they are the only ones being hurt in all of this:

Employee
"Honestly, if looks like it's something personal between transport, Minister Hulse and the Novelo's but we just don't want to get caught up in that because basically its like we are the scapegoat because no matter what they do they can't hurt the Novelo's. It only we the workers they can hurt but it looks like Mr. Hulse don't understand that, because we know receivership is - coming in to run back the business and see if they can make the money but don't come in to shut down the business. Mr. Hulse says that yes he makes other busses do the run but what happens to the workers, what happen to us the workers? So basically we already know it's something personal, because it was Mr. Castillo, John Flowers and Mr. Garcia and the Novelos. If you remember the last receivership it was a thing with them and the Novelos because Novelos says that they were being thief, but they come back again so I don't know what is their personal thing between Hulse and them but all we want to know is that we are workers - whatever they do they can't hurt the Novelos, we didn't lend Novelo any money - it is them that lend them it so it doesn't matter what they can't hurt the Novelos but it is us that they will hurt. That is all we have to say."

Tyrone Gillett, Employee
"We need to buy things for our home, beside that, we need the money that we work for and we need a job. So if we don't get a job that will make crime increase. If they say they want to low rate the crime, but due to what is happening then how will the crime low rate if they don't do something for the younger people. A lot of young people are out here, we need a job. What happen to all the young people out here, you dont know what these young people will do when they don't have any money to take care of their children."

Employee "We don't have any job, we are on pause. From Friday we are not working and we are not use to that, we use to work every day, Sunday to Sunday we use to work, we are not use to not having a job, now from Friday they lock down everything and they don't tell us if we have a job or if we don't have a job. They left us on pause now we are out here on pause. Everybody else is eating and is working, we can't do anything about it, we just have to wait and see what will happen."

Andrea Polanco
"So right now you all want your pay first thing?"

Employee
"Well exactly, everybody wants to spend a good Christmas. I know they will spend the Christmas good, them in their big house relaxing drinking whiskey and wine and then what happen to us, what will we drink - water."

Well they may only be drinking water indeed, that is, if it's left up to the Receivers, because like Former Operations Manager, Phillip Jones told us, since the company was taken over on Friday, the receivers have no plans to pay the 275 employees:

Phillip Jones, Former Operations Manager
"Up until Friday morning we had over $65,000 in our safe on the compound when the receiver took over. That was to make payment for the payroll for the salary and the Christmas bonuses, they had break the lock for the safe deposit and took out that money, I don't know what happen to it but now my thing is that I want them to ensure that they pay the workers and their position - they made it clear - they has no intention of paying any workers."

And that is exactly what the workers want now, their salaries and to try and get that they went over to the Labour Office:

Phillip Jones, Former Operations Manager
"Like everyone's story, everyone wants to get paid, that's the main concern right now. So we came over and we had to enter our name with the labor department, we are taking necessary steps, our legal advisor had advise us to come to the labor department and make a formal complaint and give our position and I just came out and I just make sure that everyone put their names. This is just a fraction of what we have, if you notice these are guys from out district."

After speaking with the Labour Office, Jones told his employees where they'll be heading next:

Phillip Jones, Former Operations Manager
"The labor department is investigating your situation. Did everybody put down their names?"

Employees
"Yes, everybody that is out here."

Phillip Jones, Former Operations Manager
"We just want to ensure you guys that the directors are doing everything legally to ensure that you get your pay and your vacation leave and everything. We will have a meeting, we just have to find the venue for tomorrow and we will sit with the lawyer and then the lawyer will advise where to move from there. But if we have to go at the Belize Bank and stand up there every day until Christmas, then we are going there to do that to make sure they pay everybody. All for one and one for all, you know how we do it, alright."

In addition to twenty -five runs taken off the Western and Northern Highway on Friday when National Transport went into receivership, city runs were also disrupted but this morning Novelo's restored the city runs through arrangements with other bus providers. National Transport maintains that it's a separate company from Belize Intransit and Metro.