A former employee of Grotto Bay Beach Resort is taking legal action because he feels the resort fired him due to his political beliefs.

In the coming weeks a writ will be filed on behalf of Antilano Del-Rosario, a non-Bermudian waiter who claims the resort fired him because of his friendship with veteran activist Raymond Russell and because he spoke out against what he believed was an unfair gratuities system at the hotel.

Accompanied by Mr. Russell, Mr. Del Rosario came to armed with a package full of documentation on his case.

Mr. Del Rosario said he was losing his voice and feeling ill on the morning of July 22 last year. He said he was told to finish his breakfast shift and to go to see a doctor, and he left work at 11 a.m.

Mr. Del Rosario said he informed his supervisor that he was ill and called him again at 8 p.m. that day to say he was going to see a doctor the next day, which was his day off.

On July 26, a letter was sent to him by the Human Resource department notifying him that his employment was terminated because he failed to show up for work on July 23 to July 26.

Mr. Del Rosario was staying with his girlfriend in Hamilton and did not receive the letter. He returned to work on August 2 and was told he was no longer an employee of the hotel. He made the medical note available but he was not reinstated.

He told last week he felt, and still feels, that he was unfairly dismissed and began making appeals to the Labour Department, his union and the Department of Immigration.

But Grotto Bay general manager but general manager J.P. Martens said there is no record of Mr. Del Rosario calling the hotel while he was sick.

And he said Mr. Del Rosario had, ?self terminated himself because he did not show up to work for several days without calling after being warned about this once before.?

Although Mr. Del Rosario had a medical certificate excusing him from work until August 4, Mr. Martens said he had already been warned that company procedure was to call a department supervisor and inform them of the illness. He said that Mr. Del Rosario was made aware of this earlier in the year and warned that providing a medical certificate after the fact was not acceptable.

Mr. Martens also said that that Mr. Del Rosario failed to show up during the height of the tourism season and did not tell anyone of his whereabouts. Grotto Bay went as far as to break down his dormitory door because no one had heard from him and they were worried that he was ill and incapacitated. After breaking into the room they found that Mr. Del Rosario was not there; thus, they determined that he had terminated his contract with them.

Mr. Del Rosario has a copy of his cell phone bill Mr. Del Rosario has a copy of his cell phone bill that shows he did call the hotel?s main number when he said he did. However, the bill does not indicate to whom he spoke.

He said last week he believes he was penalised because he had openly expressed discontent with the Grotto Bay gratuities system. He said that dining room captains took approximately 25 percent of gratuities ? even if only one is working. According to Mr. Del Rosario and Mr. Russell, who has worked in the hospitality industry and overseen many gratuity systems, the usual percentage for one captain waiter is 12-15 percent. They felt that the gratuity system unfairly favoured the captains, who were all Bermudian at the time.

?It is unfair to take advantage of foreign workers, knowing that they won?t say anything. I was the only one standing up (to the management) because the others are scared. I believe if you do your job right you don?t have to be scared,? said Mr. Del Rosario, who produced a pile of letters of recommendation from his managers ? including a 2003 reference from Mr. Martens.

However, Mr. Martens said the gratuities system was decided between employees and the union and management had nothing to do with it. And Veronica Flood, an employee at the restaurant, said the gratuities system was similar to other hotels on the Island and was fair.

Mr. Del Rosario is represented by lawyer Corin Smith, who is also the secretary of The Civil Rights Coalition of Bermuda.

Mr. Smith said his client was unfairly dismissed because he befriended Mr. Russell, an outspoken critic of the current Government and the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mr. Del Rosario was one of the few non-Bermudian workers who was willing to ?rock the boat? over labour issues, he said and using illness as grounds for dismissal was just an ?excuse?.

?It?s a human rights issue,? Mr. Smith said. ?Many employers in Bermuda are very naked with the threat of ?If we don?t like you we?ll send you back [to your home country. They felt that Antilano was getting out of hand.?

To further complicate matters Mr. Del Rosario was informed in a letter from Grotto Bay that:?Management have decided not to provide you with a release letter,? and that ?Bermuda Immigration and the Bermuda Industrial Union have been notified?. Without a release letter an expatriate worker can not find a new place of employment even if his work permit has not expired.

Mr. Del Rosario provided and the Department of Immigration with a number of recommendations from former employers on the Island that pointed to him being an asset to Bermuda?s tourism industry. He felt he would easily secure another place of employment but for Grotto Bay?s refusal to issue a release letter.

His frustration with his previous employer mounted and he stepped up his appeals with various departments. He contacted a number of labour officials who became involved.

Mr. Del Rosario said that after the labour officials became involved Grotto Bay, which is Bermudian-owned, was forced to send him a letter of release on October 12 last year. In the letter they said ?we have no objection to Mr. Del Rosario seeking alternative employment in Bermuda.?

Government?s Director of Labour and Training Milton Scott said the department does not comment publicly on individual cases.

Mr. Smith said: ?Ultimately, they [Grotto Bay gave him a settlement, the right to seek employment, which proves that they know they did something wrong.?

Mr. Martens said initially the resort did not give a release letter because the Department of Immigration told them ?that people who are not considered good standing employees should not be given a letter of release?. He said the resort changed their mind after a case was plead that Mr. Del Rosario deserved the letter.

Upon receiving this letter Mr. Del Rosario was delighted and ready to move on with his life and gain employment elsewhere. He applied for permission to do so. However, he received a letter in December informing him the Minister of Home Affairs had reviewed his application and decided to refuse his request and that he must leave the island within two months. He appealed the decision but was refused.

Mr. Smith explained that the Department of Immigration is not obliged to explain its decisions and that the appeal process which goes to Cabinet does not allow the applicant to hear the case against them or present their case. Assistant Chief Immigration officer Rozy Azhar said the department does not comment on particular cases.

Mr. Del Rosario said he was upset about the decisions and will keep fighting them.

?This past year has been a nightmare,? he said. ?It?s not about the money, though I do have financial obligations at home in the Philippines, it?s about what?s fair. I am here because of the principle.?

Mr. Del Rosario said he believed the Department of Immigration had refused him the right to seek employment because of the letter that Grotto Bay initially sent to them in August 2004.

He said he understood that Immigration had the right to deny an application but felt he had been wrongly treated: ?I don?t mind if I had stolen something and they kicked me out but I am good at my job and have good character witnesses. I don?t want to hurt anyone but I want this to be fair. If I don?t stand up, who else will??

While Ms Azhar was not able to speak to the particulars of this case, she did describe the general procedures.

She stressed that a non-Bermudian who has been terminated should not expect to be automatically granted permission to seek a new job. When the Department receives requests like Mr. Del Rosario?s it assesses the needs of the local market, whether there are suitably qualified Bermudians available and whether the applicant has skills that would be considered key to a future employer. If the employee is not considered key, the Department normally rejects the application.

?In the cases where a work permit holder has been validly terminated for cause, it is unlikely that they would be given permission to seek other employment,? she added.

Mr. Smith believes that Bermuda?s immigration laws are the root of the problem because they give Bermudians complete power and non-Bermudians few rights. He lamented the fact that Bermuda has allowed antiquated immigration laws to remain on their books while the UK and European Union have updated their rules. The laws were established in the 1940s and Mr. Smith describes them as ?archaic?. He said the laws give the government ?arbitrary powers? and encourages a ?dictatorial climate where guest workers feel they have no rights and cannot rock the boat?.

Mr. Smith hopes that the writ will put the whole system under judicial scrutiny and enlighten people about the arbitrary and unfair Immigration laws in Bermuda.