BRADES – The following is the latest release on the decision to terminate senior level employees at the Montserrat Development Corporation.
You can read the back story here. MDC Directors’ Contracts Terminated
“The Government of Montserrat (GoM) took a decision on April 2nd to close the Montserrat Development Corporation (MDC) after the findings of the Task Force, which looked at operations & governance arrangements. This was immediately communicated to the Board and
the staff of the MDC who were informed before the decision was made public. The Department for International Development (DFID) also indicated that its financial support to the MDC would cease at the end of May 2015.
“In winding up a company, there are a number of steps that must be taken according to the Companies Act. They include the engagement of Auditors to complete the auditing of all outstanding accounts to the end date of May 31, 2015, the appointment of a liquidator to deal with the assets, and the publication of the resolutions in the Official Gazette.
“The MDC also retained the services of Brandt and Associates to handle all of the many legal issues, including the termination of all staff members of the MDC. Termination letters were delivered to Directors on April 29, 2015 and to all other staff on April 30, 2015. Each staff will be remunerated according to the terms of their contracts and where there are none, according to the Labour Code. All staff will receive their remuneration for the month of May 2015.
“Over the next few months the Government will take steps to establish a new state owned entity that will focus on Trade, Investment and Tourism that meets Montserrat’s future needs.
“In the interim, the Government of Montserrat will partner with DFID to provide the appropriate support for the Tourism Portfolio that is within the Premier’s remit. This means that over the coming weeks a Tourism advisor will be recruited to support the ongoing work and to assist in incorporating tourism into this new entity which is being planned. Most of the tourism staff are being retained to continue the work in this vital sector. Further an Investment and Trade advisor will be recruited to support the ongoing work and to assist the government in the development of its investment and trade strategy and the establishment of the new entity.
“Once again Government acknowledges that this difficult decision has impacted the lives of MDC staff and that is regrettable.”
