“I see all of the persons who are involved in these industrial actions causing The Bahamas to lose even more market share in the international tourism arena,” Bahamas Employer’s Confederation (BECon) Mr. Nutt told The Guardian on Wednesday.
Addressing the current industrial unrest sweeping the nation, Mr. Nutt stated: “We’re not in boom times and we haven’t been for a number of years now…the good ole days are over. You can’t get blood from a stone.”
According to Mr. Nutt, the current industrial unrests ongoing in the country are reflective of people unaware of the economic conditions.
“The ones who are involved in industrial unrest today are living in the past, they’re not living in our current reality. It’s very sad because the industrial action that they are taking is doing nothing but hurting our economy,” Mr. Nutt said.
He referred to the report on Trade Liberalisation completed by the Tourism Task Force earlier this year, which outlined that low productivity levels, and high operational cost has made The Bahamas less competitive in the tourism arena. And, he advised that the country look closely at what competing destinations are doing and compare this to what is going on in The Bahamas.
“What is happening in the hotel in Nevada, how are they staffed, how much staff do they need to do a certain amount of work. If you find that you need three or four Bahamian staff for every one, you have in the United States, that’s a problem,” he said.
Mr. Nutt said he agreed totally with the statement made earlier this year by certain union leaders who proclaimed that the time for automatic pay increases were over and pay increases now need to be dealt with through a form of productivity scheme. He added that for benefits to be given in the work place the company has to be able to absorb the costs and the only way for this to occur is through higher productivity levels.
The Bahamas is experiencing multiple industrial unrests in both the public and private sectors. The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) is in negotiations with The Bahamas Electrical Worker’s Union (BEWU) for a new industrial agreement. In recent communications, the BEWU indicated that a strike vote could be called for if the management of BEC continues its “hard line position.”
Bahamasair has also seen unrest coming in the form of a sick-out by more than 100 employees Sunday causing the already financially strapped airline over $500, 000 in losses. The National Insurance Board had to close 13 of its 28 offices as a result of employees calling in sick last Friday.
Additionally in the private sector, workers at Atlantis, Paradise Island staged a demonstration in front of the Royal Towers entrance to protest a proposed two per cent increase in the new industrial agreement being negotiated.
Commenting on the action staged at Atlantis, Mr. Nutt said. “The unrest by the hotel workers is being seen by the guests who are here and will leave a negative impression with them.”
He said that in the long run these workers are hurting themselves by making less revenue available, which automatically translate to less pay and fewer jobs.
By Martella Matthews, The Nassau Guardian
