After weeks of negotiations, some of the disgruntled employees from the recently defunct Domino´s Pizza chain in Costa Rica are finally getting their piece of the pie.
At least 17 employees, who were owed less than ¢200,000 (about $358), got paid in full last Friday by representatives of the Costa Rican franchise, said Labor Ministry spokesman Giovani Díaz.
On Jan. 30, the companies Grupo de Mozzarella and Senderos de Poás, owners of the country´s Domino´s Pizza restaurants, abruptly closed the nine pizzerias throughout the greater San José area, leaving more than 120 employees jobless and without any type of remuneration.
The owners gave employees less than a day´s notice before closing down the nine restaurants, allegedly citing a fabricated health hazard as an excuse to evacuate the premises so they could empty the locales. The restaurants were cleared out of all their equipment by the next day (TT, Feb. 20).
On Tuesday, 37 employees who are owed ¢200,000 to ¢400,000 (about $358 to $717) by the Mexican group are expected to receive their checks in their entirety.
For the remaining 60 employees, who are owed more than ¢400,000 (about $717 or more), they would receive their first payment instalment covering 50 percent of the total amount this Wednesday.
The payments being made to the employees include vacation time, aguinaldo (end-of-year bonus), severance pay and outstanding salary for the last two weeks worked.
The outstanding total owed will be made in two separate payments: one on March 27 and the final payment on April 27, said Henry Acuña, a former Domino´s employee who is acting as the representative for employees of the Escazú branch.
