Disgruntled CableVision employees have not received back pay from an arbitration agreement because a final deal has not yet been signed, the company said yesterday.

Staff complained in Monday's Royal Gazette that a 4.5 percent pay increase and a deal on more flexible hours had been agreed at arbitration a month and a half ago, but the company was dragging its feet.

But last night CableVision general manager Jeremy Elmas said: “The arbitration panel has merely resolved several issues which the (Bermuda Industrial) Union and CableVision had been unable to resolve themselves and a final agreement has yet to be signed. If this simple fact had been reported, the whole focus would have changed, and no one in the world of business would ever hand over payment before obtaining a signed contract.

“We do not believe the media is the appropriate forum in which to discuss employee issues and as a result, we will no longer discuss employee issues with the media.”

Mr. Elmas was responding to an anonymous letter sent to The Royal Gazette from Bermudian CableVision staff who complained foreign workers were getting preferential treatment and higher wages at the television company.

Mr. Elmas added: “I am certain that this employee's dissatisfaction stems from the fact that the arbitration panel did not decide in the union's favour on every issue, nonetheless we must all live by it now.”

CableVision staff in Monday's Royal Gazette said they were considering industrial action because they believe the company is dragging its feet over implementing the arbitration decision, particularly over retroactive pay.

In a letter passed to the newspaper, Bermudian staff say they are fed up with foreign staff being brought in to do a job they feel they can do, and that they have to clean up mistakes made by the overseas workers.

The letter states that foreign workers at the company get $1,500 a week while locals are paid $400 plus.

“Local CableVision workers have reached their peak of putting up with matters of unfairness,” the letter states.

“They feel the managers at CableVision lack confidence in their abilities so much so that they continue to bring in foreigners to do their work.”

The letter claims local staff are frustrated at having to teach overseas workers how to build cablevision systems.

“The public must wonder, as they are watching their favourite TV shows, what is happening each time their is interference in the television, or worse, an outage,” the letter continues.

“The problem is mostly due to the foreign workers who are not so familiar with the systems and therefore cause more problems which (three local workers) have to clean up each time and get absolutely no credit for.”

Each local field technicians had up to six qualifications allowing them to build the new digital system.

“Our local workers feel quite confident in completing this project without the help of overseas workers,” the letter states.

“Foreign workers are allowed to work weekends while local workers are not.

“Is this fair? They choose to put foreign workers out on the job at weekends to build the new systems which is not necessary because we can form our own group of local technicians to build the systems ourselves.

“Where is the confidence in the men and women hired locally by CableVision?

“Do they not think we could use the overtime to feed our families rather than it be wired overseas.”

The letter states Mr. Elmas was wrong to claim on Monday that not staff shared the frustration at the situation.

And the letter alleges that CableVision use GPS systems on the vehicles of local workers to keep track of their movements, but this technology is not installed in vehicles used by foreign workers.

Local workers who have tried to complain on numerous occasions were told they could look for another job if they didn't like the conditions, the letter states.

“The workers really resent their voices not being heard, especially by a manager who is holding a post that he himself is not qualified to hold.”