Durand, a native of Dominica who has been with the company for almost a year, was informed of her dismissal on Monday, January 17, 2022.

According to information reaching our newsroom, Durand’s termination is effective January 30, 2022; however, she was told not to report for work after January 17, 2022.

Durand was reportedly told via a letter dated January 16, 2022, and written by Cassie Huggins-Skelton of Platinum Media Group that the company had reviewed its direction for 2022 and it was determined that her work “does not align and is not a fit with the expectations and goals of the company moving forward.”

‘Unfair dismissal’

The now terminated reporter has now accused BVI Platinum News of unfair dismissal.

“On Monday around 10 o clock I was just notified that I was sent an email, which I did not receive and it was later forwarded to my WhatsApp, indicating that I was no longer an employee with the company…no prior warnings, no prior anything had been issued to me in terms of my work, because I know I have been working with the company and I have given more than my all and it took me as a surprise,” Durand told our newsroom.

She added that her letter of termination came as a surprise, particularly since she had been ill for some time since she took the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I have been haemorrhaging a lot so I spent almost a week in the hospital at the end of December. I believe my health has a lot to do with what happened,” Durand posited.

The reporter, who has also worked for BVI News, said she has contacted a prominent local attorney to represent her in this matter.

“This is clearly a matter of unfair dismissal. It was really unfair and, according to the Labour laws, you have to give the person time, in terms of prior warnings and so forth and in my case nothing like that happened.”

Meanwhile, Skelton-Huggins did not respond to our request for a comment on the allegations made by Ms Durand.

It was in December 2021 that 284 Media, an affiliate of Caribbean Cellular Telephone Ltd., (CCT Global Communication), fired its main reporter, Jovan C. Wilson.

Popular 284 Media reporter was fired in December

It was in December 2021 that 284 Media, an affiliate of Caribbean Cellular Telephone Ltd., (CCT Global Communication), fired its main reporter, Jovan C. Wilson.

No reason was reportedly given for her termination and it is unclear if she received severance payment.

There had been widespread speculation in the media fraternity over her firing, with some believing she was too close to the ruling Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government and was reporting too often on the many accomplishments of the Andrew A. Fahie (R1) administration.

Others claimed it was a clash of personalities between her and her co-host Ronn A. Grant on the media platform 284 News.

Haters of local business tagged as bullies

In June 2020, in what many residents described as haters of locals and their businesses, a very small group of political activists with little or no credibility in the country, was bullying Virgin Islands News Online’s (VINO) advertisers to boycott VINO over a cartoon that 90% of the public had no issues with.

The cartoon depicted ex-governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert on the neck of commentator Claude O. Skelton-Cline. Such cartoons, depicting oppression and racism, appeared in thousands of papers across the world, following the racially-motivated killing of George P. Floyd Jr.

The persons, described as bullies, wanted to affect a local business for their own personal agendas. They included 'ordained minister' Dr Michael A. Turnbull, who is the brother of Opposition Member Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (R2) and former Vice-President of the National Democratic Party (NDP); Mr Aaron F. Parillon, who unsuccessfully contested the Third District seat as a member of the NDP at the February 2019 general elections; and former Acting Chief Immigration Officer, Mrs Geraldine Ritter-Freeman, who was removed from her post months after the September 2017 hurricanes.

In addition, Ms Esther N. Fraser has also allegedly harassed businesses to boycott VINO, along with a social activist who many in the country detest for her disrespectful approach, Rosemary Cindy Rosan-Jones, who was made redundant from her job at the BVI Tourist Board.

Many of the businesses called us to pledge their full support and committed to renewing their ads even before the time had expired. Two of the advertisers, including Alred C. Frett, went public to condemn the bullying tactics.

VINO remains # 1

Today VINO remains the number 1 online news site. It has a reputation for staff stability and still attracts most of the advertising and readers. It is also known for having more accurate and timely stories than any online news site in the Virgin Islands.