Four months after being made redundant, former staff of Bermuda Glass are still questioning if they will see any of $35,000 or more they are owed in compensation.

At least four staff were told they were no longer needed on June 2, a decision that took effect immediately and without any offer of pay in lieu of notice. The news was delivered to the shocked staff by Baptiste Builder owner Raymond Baptiste and lawyer Kim White.

Since then, attempts by the former employees to get the monies they are owed by law under the Employment Act 2000 have proved fruitless. Claiming that they are collectively owed in excess of $35,000 for pay in lieu of notice and redundancy, staff are now questioning if they will ever be paid. Under the Employment Act, the laid off staff should be paid before any other creditors, including the Crown.

Speaking on behalf of the former staff, former executive director of the Bermuda Employers Council Malcolm Dixon, said the staff could not afford to, even on a collective basis, hire their own lawyer. But he added that they had not got anywhere on there own.

In addition, Mr. Dixon said he was alarmed that pay owed under law to the staff had not been paid.

"I am extremely concerned that the relevant sections in the Employment Act 2000 that protect employees from not being paid fairly when a company closes have not been met," he said.

Eight other staff employed by Bermuda Glass were hired on by Baptiste Builders, who reportedly bought Bermuda Glass in late 2001.

At the time Mr. Baptiste's daughter, Sascha Bearden told The Royal Gazette the purchase was a good thing for the company as it would expand Baptiste's product line.

"The purchase of Bermuda Glass allows us to expand into commercial glass, kitchens and have a full-time field service team."

Baptiste's also said at the time that there would be no jobs lost as a result of the sale.

But a press release issued by Kim White, a partner with Cox Hallett Wilkinson, in June announced that Bermuda Glass had been put into receivership and cited "underlying historical problems" which were "incapable of solution" without a large amount of money.

There were no details given on what those "underlying historical problems" may have been and although Baptiste Builders said Bermuda Glass had moved to its Khyber Pass location they denied having bought the company.

The Royal Gazette understands that Bermuda Glass is now owned by Maui Island Trust. Although the principals of that trust have not been named it is understood that its directors are those associated with Baptiste Builders.

As a result the staff, who were said to be taken completely off guard when told that there services were no longer needed, said they also did not know who to go to as the former directors of Bermuda Glass were no longer involved with the company after it was sold off in December, 2001. The principals of Maui Island Trust have not been named.

Last night Mr. White would not say who he was representing, whether it be Mr. Baptiste or Maui Island Trust, and referred any questions on staff pay to the receiver, accountant Craig Christensen, who was appointed by the Bank of Bermuda to secure monies owed to it by Bermuda Glass.

When told that Mr. Christensen, a partner with Arthur Morris Christensen, had told The Royal Gazette he was acting on behalf of the Bank of Bermuda and that any staff claims would not come to him but have to go to the company, Mr. White said: "I didn't know that that was what he was saying. I can't comment on what the receiver is saying."

He refused to make any comment on behalf of his unnamed client and declined to answer any further questions, "no comment, no comment," he said.

One former Bermuda Glass staff member was also reportedly promised a settlement after she agreed not to take her dispute to the Labour Tribunal. Payment of the settlement had been expected in June. The settlement was agreed by Mr. White and previous Baptiste general manager Martin WIllingale. Three weeks later the former staff member was informed by Mr. White that there would be no money forthcoming and she would have to deal with the receiver.

"No matter which way you turn, they are on the losing end," Mr. Dixon said of the situation the former staff now find themselves in. He added that the Employment Act must be made to stick.

"If it is not protecting the very people it was meant to protect, it becomes a paper tiger," he said