The Chief Operating Officer of the Observer Media Group responded to fears expressed by prime minister Gaston Browne over out standing monies owed to staff and creditors.
“The staff has always been made aware of the company’s financial and other challenges,” Derrick said in a written response to ANR.
The prime minister questioned over the weekend what would happen to about 1.5 million dollars Observer owes to APUA.
“The other options are that the Derricks are trying to conveniently walk away from their liabilities,” he said over the weekend.
The country’s leader was also concerned about reports that staff were not being given their rightful severance.
In his response, Derrick said the company will pay to staff all “legally owed severance and outstanding vacation days.”
He added, “similarly, the creditors will be addressed within the confines of the law and available resources.”
But Browne told Derrick in an email reply that he did not address the most critical issues.
“I was hoping that at a minimum, you would have given a firm commitment, that the amounts due to severed employees will be paid in full and that the outstanding amount owed to APUA will be addressed. To my knowledge, those are the responsibilities of Observer Publication of which you are a director,” Browne wrote.
The prime minister said as a responsible government, “we will be watching this so-called transition of Observer, which we hope will not result in non-payment in amounts due to staff and other creditors, including APUA.”
He warned that “If the latter proves to be true, then APUA and all other relevant government entities will have to adopt defensive measures, to ensure that there is no such recurrence, abuse by the New Observer entity.”
Observer will close on November 30 leaving 60 people without a job.
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“Observer will close on November 30 leaving 60 people with a job.”
They mean without a job.
Oh look! It’s Darren Derrick. The person responsible for the demise of OMG.
Gaston passed his place. He needs to keep his hands off this private company. He will find himself on the wrong side of history.
Gaston your are the best keep fighting keep pushing imagine this man want his radio station slone to operate 8magine that ….this country is sinking while they develop themselves borrowed borrowing money to pay creditors and workers and before 2014 elections they had all the answers,and up to now nothing……the only thing they tried to do was sell passports and that started under the other upp which was citizens by INVESTMENT……..gaston the government workers cant get pay ,other companies that close cant receive monies owed to them for over some 10 years now etc COMPLETE SECURITY WORKERS ,LEEWARD ISLAND SECURITY SPECIALIST,STANFORD WORKERS ,AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON BUT U A STUDY OBSERVER…….hope people know that is not all antiguans behave like this …….Gaston if you love poor people as you speak a out move apua out of your rented buildings and state insurance now start there but u wont ……
Gaston clown full a .hit, big time. Do other entities like hoteliers, Leewind paint factories & others like Half Moon Bay, Sanford & much more, get these stern warnings from Mr Big mouth? If he can’t run the country, give it back to UPP…..
Give it back to who ???? U Pe Pe that is a tuff one …..upp also needs to wake up they need to start to work now they not doing nothing…upp get in rhe ready position
STATE OF CONFUSION
So many twists and turns.
Many are either left to speculate or in a ‘…State of Confusion.’
‘Editor and Wadad,’ Don’t be perturbed by the ‘…Red Thumbsters.’
They contribute nothing to this news portal or discussions, but their ‘…Red Thumbs.’
On the assumption that the operations will continue, though under a ‘…new Management Team,’ some of the employees may retain their jobs as had been earlier suggested.
However, there could be a problem with capitalization.
There has been inquisition as there have been speculations over source of funding.
Messenger or no messenger, shoot if you wish to.
All that APUA and other creditors should do is to go to the court and place a lean on the assets of the company, for fear that they will be sold and monies taken out of the company on several ways.
As usual Darren was very vague in his response when he would pay the employees.
And as usual he never said that the company has filed for voluntary liquidation so what does closure means. The staff better go for legal representation fast. Because when the assets are gone the only thing they can do is to hold the board of Directors accountable for improper handling of the company’s assets and liabilities. And those court cases can take several years.
The strange thing here is that some years ago another printing company, allegedly owned by Asot Michael, closed down shop and Observer was all over them asking for the staff to be given their rightful severance pay. Now they are in the same boat and do not wish for others to talk about it.
Well APUA could never support their claim with documentation, no surprise there. As to employee severance there is no reason to believe this will not be paid. Stop trying to put goat mouth on the new enterprise. You have no skin in this game unless you are being paid by Gaston. Gaston need to remember “who vex lose’.
What New Enterprise ???, this is just crafty, the Govt needs to put a lean on all the assets through the court until they get their act together,why APUA should lose all those money, Gaston needs to stop talking and let Court work
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