Uwahnie Martinez is one of only two Garifuna's working at the First Caribbean Bank Branch in Dangriga, and she has resigned, alleging discriminatory behavior. That's what her representative, the Christian Workers Union alleged in a press conference at the Union's Belize City Office today.
Audrey Matura Shepherd told the media that the Bank accepted her resignation, but it does not go into effect until October – since she has to give two months notice. Matura Shepherd says that the Bank has asked to meet with the Union – but that is not acceptable:
Audrey Matura Shepherd President – CWU
"The bank immediately wrote an email and made several calls to me to ask me to meet with them personally and at the same time wrote a letter asking for a meeting with the employee apart. Our policy is that we never have meeting concerning any employee in their absence especially a matter of this nature and we did not believe in having two separate meetings. So we wrote them back asking for us to have one meeting and to have the employee there and two, to ensure that all the evidence they have tried to use against her or complains she has made against them, that we have all the records straight. Up to today, they have refused to give us that material and as recent as yesterday they sent us an e-mail now saying, they do not believe they need to have a meeting with the union, and the union position is that we disagree. Today I will tell you a bit about what is going on but we are giving them the final opportunity to have a meeting with the union by Friday. We are giving them a deadline by tomorrow, at 1 p.m. Feeling that we will underscore some of the nasty things that have happened and being perpetrated by the bank."
And the CWU isn't just demanding a meeting – the union is also demanding an apology for the treatment of Uwahnie Martinez. Matura Shepherd explained:..
Audrey Matura Shepherd
"We are not satisfied that they have not apologised to our member. We believe an apology is required and out of courtesy the bank should at least respond to the e-mail in which our client member made it well known, what was done to her and what were the instructions that she cannot speak her language. It wasn't the first time that warning came and we need the bank to respond because the manager categorically told our member that she had already consulted with top management, that this came from above. Imagine she has worked with the bank 14 years and you never had a problem with her. When you got your new manager you relied on her as a right hand to help the manager make it through a community she didn't know. Same thing with the other member, when the new manager came our member work to help make sure the bank was able to run properly and helped that person through. So now that they have done all that good, you're saying that they're not good enough? So how come you never had a complaint then? They had to speak all the Garifuna then because clearly a lot of there customers are Garifuna, if you did not have a problem with it then, it has been happening before you had a problem with it now. So there is more to it and that is why the bank needs to meet with us."
And while there's no word on whether that meeting will be held, Matura Shepherd says that Uwahnie Martinez isn't the only Garifuna employee who ahs complaints. She says the only other Garifuna who works in the branch is also ill at ease because of a number of incidents:..
Audrey Matura Shepherd
"There were a series of incidents done directly by the manager that singled out the two Garifuna employees and those people are prepared to speak and document it; And some of it is documented because one of the things happened by e-mail and they have that e-mail that showed they were singled out. Imagine the last warning she got was because an elder Garifuna man came to the bank, who does business at the bank regularly, always speaks Garifuna, he became speaking in Garifuna and she had to say I will get in trouble I cannot speak to you in Garifuna and the man did not appreciate it. Because you can't want my money, I am comfortable speaking this language and you have a problem with it. As a matter of fact in one of the letters we were told that is is loud and unwelcome, that goes a lot to say, why would you pick on a language because you think it is loud and unwelcome, so there is more to it."
Due to time constraints, we could not get comment from the Bank today. But, last week, a representative said that persons of Garifuna descent comprise at least 10% of their staff and that there has never been any attempt to stifle the use of any native language and the management did not issue any written directive to the staff regarding not using Garifuna in the branch and there is no policy within CIBC First Caribbean that prohibits the use of Garifuna or any other native language within the bank.
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