By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

TECHNOLOGICAL advancements in the gaming industry has moved one webshop owner to restructure its workforce ahead of the government’s proposal to legalise number houses.

FML Group of Companies CEO Craig Flowers yesterday confirmed to The Tribune that recent firings reflected the company’s attempt to shed employees hired under a different “environment” with no qualifications or background checks more than a decade ago.

Unskilled workers now present a handicap to operations, according to Mr Flowers, who said that the move was “imperative” to remain competitive in the industry.

Mr Flowers spoke to The Tribune in response to criticisms by former workers after nearly 50 people were terminated last month.

“It has nothing to do with the way forward as it relates to the government’s position,” said Mr Flowers. “FML is a company that found itself in the position where we would have employed a lot of people in the beginning who were unqualified because of the environment in which we were working.”

“We helped as many of them as we could have, for as long as we could have. Technology is now demanding that we move to another grade and quality of persons. 

“Our plans of going forward,” he said, “have been restricted by employees, and we’re not proud of that but we’re making decisions as it relates to the business. The majority (terminated) were people with us for 12 years, 10 years. We would have employed people without any credentials, background checks, today this industry has evolved to a level where the operators have no choice if it is to compete in a global world.

Former web shop employees yesterday criticised the mass firings by the FML Group.

With proposals for legalization of the industry to come before parliament in the upcoming weeks, former workers said they felt cheated after they claimed they were let go without cause on February 17.

In an interview with The Tribune, a former manager said: “We didn’t get anything in writing. We were just told by word of mouth and when we tried to question it, when I called him (Mr Flowers) directly, he claims that he didn’t have any money and was going broke so he had to let go 45 of us.

“But almost immediately he rehired 45 new employees, and these new employees are not getting the same salary as us, they are being underpaid.”

Fearing that her identification would jeopardize future employment opportunities, the former manager said she received $9,000 in severance after nearly 10 years of service.

She said the money was transferred to her online account with FML Group on the same day of the termination.

“Regardless if this were legal or not, my thing is persons were saying that we’re going to be terminated and not have jobs because the people voted no,” the manager said. But now even though they (government) are going to legalize it and it’s going to be regulated – we’re still without jobs.

“We were slapped in the face with no justification as to why we were let go. We campaigned for him, risked everything, we stood up for him, we argued with customers who came in and said they weren’t gonna vote yes.”

The manager said that 20 managers, and 25 cashiers were terminated.

Dismissing the claims yesterday, Mr Flowers said: “We have to go back and look at our errors, not then being errors, but today being handicaps to us being able to move quicker and faster. 

“Over the past few months we would have hired some 25 to 30 people to replace these people to grow the company, from as far back as November. We kept them (fired workers) on right through the Christmas holiday understanding that it was not a good thing to do through the holidays, but to instead make the decision leading into January and adequate notice was given in January.

“It’s not something that we feel comfortable with, but certainly we would have taken on new employees,” Mr Flowers said. “It’s not like we are downsizing, this has nothing to do with day-to-day operations, but to do with the need for quicker, faster, smarter (employees).”

The layoffs come less than a month before revelations by Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe in parliament over the government’s intention to move ahead with legalization of the industry.

In the House of Assembly last week, Mr Wilchcombe announced that the government will bring regulations to the House of Assembly before the end of the month.

Mr Flowers said he would reserve his comments on the recent government announcement on proposed legalization until full details were released, adding that he did not want to prejudge.

“In all due respect,” he said, “giving government of the day an opportunity to lead in this matter, it’s not appropriate to go in front of the government. We may or may not approve (legislation), but it’s truly a call for the government. Our role as operators is to sit back and let the government tell us how things will move forward.”

According to Mr Wilchcombe, the Government will regularise and tax webshop gaming by July 1.