A man is at odds with the Kissoon Group of Com-panies, claiming that the firm has been refusing to pay any sort of compensation to his family although his son who was an employee died while on duty.
The company said it was still investigating, but when approached with the question of compensation, its Human Resources Manager TejChandra Deo could not provide any definitive answer.
Twenty-five-year-old Zaheer Baig of 243 Independence Boulevard, Georgetown was employed as a welder with the company. On the fateful day, he had left with two other employees to go to the company’s ranch at Abary. He fell into rough waters close to a sluice in the Abary area on August 16 last year. His body was recovered two days later and because of the state of decomposition, he had to be buried soon after at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.
Recovery of body
His father Wazim Baig said he had to cover all the expenses for the recovery of his son’s body from a river in the Abary area.
He told Stabroek News that when his family received a message that his son had drowned they had no choice but to rent a vehicle, then a boat and engine to go in search of his son’s body.
He explained that a quick burial had to be conducted since his son’s body was in a decomposed state.
For the burial alone, Baig said he expended $50,000 and large sums were also spent to rent the boat and engine for the two days they spent searching for his son’s body.
He said relatives were upset at the way his son died while on duty, especially since they hardly received any proper explanation from his employers. He recalled his son leaving home extremely early on the fateful day and the family just receiving a message late that day that he had drowned.
“I show them all my receipts and all the money I spent and I just running up and down for a very long time and now is almost the one year death anniversary and on to now Kissoon could give nothing,” he said.
Baig told Stabroek News that the company’s human resources manager had informed him that Clico was its insurance agent and some sort of recovery would have to be made there, but there had been a fraud and so this was uncertain.
He said they assisted him with the completion of forms for the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to help recover some costs but he only received less than 50% of the money spent on the burial alone.
“I think even if they were waiting on the insurance people, the company itself could have done more to help us because he died on duty,” the man said.
He told this newspaper that at a wake held for his son, Deo and others had turned up with a few bottles of coffee, a few boxes of salt biscuits and some jars of butter.
“That is what they gave us and this is not good enough. One year later Kissoon has not been able to help us in any way even though we foot all the expenses alone,” the man lamented.
Stabroek News subsequently contacted Managing Director Hemraj Kissoon and related the man’s concerns to him. He referred this newspaper to Deo.
In an interview with Stabroek News last week, Deo remembered the young Baig as being a good welder and a jovial employee. He said he was not at work the day and weekend following his death but learnt of it the Monday after.
According to the information reaching him, he said, Baig had accompanied two other workers to the company’s Abary cattle ranch.
Going on trip
He said sometimes he went there to work and at other times on joy rides. He claimed that on the fateful day, Baig was intoxicated. According to him, the man was told to go back home but insisted that he wanted to go on the trip.
Deo said when the men were almost there they stopped at a sluice and Baig told the driver of the vehicle that he wanted to go to freshen up. He said the man allowed him and he proceeded into the nearby bush. In a matter of minutes, one of the men on the trip reported that they heard Baig crying for help but by the time they were able to reach him he had fallen into the water and could not be found.
Deo told Stabroek News that the company therefore had no evidence that the man had died at the ranch.
He said however that when someone employed by the company dies, all expenses are covered by its directorship. He said representatives from the company including himself visited the wake being held in the dead man’s honour and had offered to purchase the coffin for the burial but the family refused.
He claimed that the man’s father visited the office days after and requested compensation and was mostly upset at the way he died and made many allegations in this regard.
He showed Stabroek News copies of the receipts which Baig submitted to the company, but when asked why no attempt was made at re-imbursement, Deo could not respond.
He said he conveyed the relatives’ sentiments to “those in charge” but it was not up to him to say whether compensation would be offered or in what amount.
He said he told Baig to speak directly to the Kissoons, particularly Chairman Mrs Lyla Kissoon.
Baig said he had been going to and from the business ever since and has received no word as to what the company’s position is regarding the issue of compensation.
Deo had told Stabroek News he would raise the issue once more with his seniors. He later contacted this newspaper saying that the company was willing to speak on the contentious issue of reimbursement and compensation but still could not provide any information on the company’s position in this regard.
Baig told Stabroek News that the company had not made their grief easier to bear since he believes it has not done its part. Zaheer Baig had worked with the Kissoon Group of Companies for close to eight years.
