FILIPINO waiter Antilano del Rosario first came to Bermuda to work at the Carriage House Restaurant in St. George's in 1986, but despite stellar references and a total of 14 years in the hospitality industry in Bermuda, he was fired by his last employer, Grotto Bay, and may have to return home penniless.

However, he is not without local friends, who visited this newspaper to complain about the injustices to which they believe Mr. del Rosario has been subjected by the hotel and the Department of Immigration, which informed him in December that Minister of Labour Randy Horton had refused his request to seek alternative employment in Bermuda and, on March 18, that the Cabinet Appeal Tribunal had disallowed his appeal to continue to reside and work in Bermuda.

He has been told to leave the island by May 1.

His friend, political activist Raymond Russell, plans to help him take legal action against the hotel and Mr. Horton, to stay his departure from Bermuda and to seek compensation from the hotel.

Another friend, former NLP candidate Raymond Whitecross, said he was concerned that Mr. del Rosario was being denied the basic civil and human rights which should be shown to all people living and working here.

"Through Immigration, they are putting the squeeze on him," complained Mr. Russell. "It started three years ago, when the Bermudians at the Grotto Bay were getting the majority of the gratuities.

"I complained to the general manager, and they put so much pressure on (Mr. del Rosario), they squeezed him out of there. After getting him a release from Immigration, they went behind his back and made all sorts of allegations."

Mr. del Rosario produced a letter from Grotto Bay Human Resources manager Kelli Miller to Immigration officer Denise Davis, with a copy to BIU general secretary Derrick Burgess, which claimed that he had not shown up for work on four days in July 2004, when Mr. del Rosario insists that he was ill, and was able to show a doctor's certificate for the days in question.

"We have been trying to contact you for four days due to your no-show, no-call for your scheduled shifts," Ms Miller wrote to Mr. del Rosario on July 26. We have resorted to breaking the lock on your room door No. 15 as we were concerned about your health and safety. Upon entering, you were not there. Further to your failure to turn up for work for four consecutive days (July 23, 24, 25 & 26, 2004) without calling your department head as per the terms and conditions of our Employee Handbook and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, we hereby advise you that we consider the aforementioned actions as your resignation of employment with Grotto Bay Beach Resort."

"They said I was fired for not showing up for work on July 23 to 26, but they sent me home on the 22nd because I was so sick," said Mr. del Rosario. "On the 22nd, I went to work, scheduled to do breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I couldn't stay.

"They knew I was really sick, and sent me home. How can they claim I was a 'no-show' when they know I had been sent home? I was sick, and I was given a note by Dr. Stephen Sherwin. My medical certificate covered July 23 to August 4, and I was sent to the hospital for an X-ray of my lungs, because I really had trouble breathing.

"July 23 was a scheduled day off. I wasn't in my dorm room because I was at a friend's house. It is not good to be alone in a dorm room when you are sick.

"When I showed the doctor's note to them when I came back, they said I didn't have a job. The Union and Immigration had already been told I was let go. I was set up."

Mr. del Rosario showed a time sheet which proved he had worked on July 22, 2004 from 8.30 a.m. to 10.58 a.m. He also showed a copy of a cell phone bill which recorded phone calls to Grotto Bay on July 22, when he called to speak to Director of Food and Beverages Martin Seef, to tell him that he was sick and would have to miss work for some days. He called again on July 26. "They put me through to Mr. Martens, the general manager, by mistake, but they know that I called," insisted Mr. del Rosario.

Mr. del Rosario worked at the Carriage House from 1986 through 1990, when he returned home to the Philippines, but he came back to Bermuda in 1995, and worked continuously in Bermuda hotels until his abrupt severance from Grotto Bay last year.

He said his employers had falsely alleged that he had stolen $13, when they were aware that he had returned a wallet lost by a Grotto Bay guest which contained $2,500. The relieved and very happy guest gave him a reward of $150 for his honesty.

"A guest left a gratuity of $13, and the Food and Beverage Director, Martin Seef, because he didn't like me, accused me of stealing it. But he didn't make the allegation until the guest had left the island."

Mr. del Rosario produced a copy of a guest room check which showed that the guest in Room 110 had left a $13 gratuity on a $11 bill on July 10, 2004.

Mr. del Rosario was clearly anxious and distressed, and he talked of how hard it had been for him to be out of work and unpaid since last July. He believed that he had been a good, hard worker, and had always taken pride in the quality of service he had provided locals and visitors alike.

In a letter dated May 5, 2003, Grotto Bay general manager J.P. Martens wrote that Mr. del Rosario, who had been employed at the hotel since June 2000, was "a great asset to our resort. He has been a reliable, dedicated, and dependable member of staff.

"In addition, I would like to commend his excellent service. He is consistently recognised by our guests as an outstanding server."

Within three months, he was gone. Stan Ray, now at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, was the Director of Food and Beverages at Grotto Bay who specifically hired Mr. del Rosario from Sonesta Beach, and he wrote a no less glowing reference in May 2001. "Upon my departure from Sonesta in 2000, I learned that Antilano was looking for a new employment challenge, and I was quick to attempt to secure his services here at Grotto Bay. He topped the guest comment card responses month after month, and was the most attentive, charming and professional server we had. I consider Antilano to be completely honest, trustworthy and a dedicated hospitality professional."

Mr. Ray told the Mid-Ocean News that Mr. del Rosario was the best waiter at Grotto Bay.

"He was an excellent waiter. I employed him at Grotto Bay, and he was the best waiter in terms of guest satisfaction, which we charted from guest comment cards. He was very popular. I have asked a number of people involved to explain what happened, but I haven't been able to find out why he has been treated that way."

Mr. del Rosario is disconsolate, and braced for the worst.

"They are killing me every day," he said. "I am running out of time, and will have to leave the island because they treated me so badly. I would understand if I had done something wrong, but I did not. I ask, please, for help, because if I am going home, I would like to go with my head up, because I know I did nothing wrong. I have had no income for eight months, and I owe people money."

Like many Filipinos working overseas, Mr. del Rosario has a family at home and children in school who have survived for years mainly on what he has been able to send home. He has been the principal bread-winner for 14 people.

Calls to the Mr. Martens, Mr. Seef, and Ms Miller of Grotto Bay were not returned by press time.

George Scott of the Bermuda Industrial Union said that matter could only be discussed by the president, Derrick Burgess, who was off the island.