Though many of the Wyndham Nassau Resort’s nearly 1,000 employees returned to the property on October 17 after a six-week closure, 96 employees have been displaced as two food and beverage outlets were permanently closed last Friday, according to Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) President Nicole Martin.
She told The Nassau Guardian that the number of displaced workers is expected to rise as Baha Mar executives issued a letter just two days before the closure indicating that room service, banqueting, Earl’s Restaurant and Seaside Buffet would be closed down.
The news comes shortly after the union and Baha Mar officials clashed over the voluntary separation and early retirement packages offered by the company, ahead of the property’s summer closure.
Martin said a meeting was held with both sides and Minister of Labour Shane Gibson on Wednesday, however, the union was disappointed with the position taken by Gibson and further shocked that such a decision could be made without reasonable notice.
“He (Gibson) said to us outright that workers are made redundant all the time and it is just a fact of life in The Bahamas,” Martin said.
“He pretty much acted as the voice of the employer last night. The minister wanted us to sit and talk to them about redeployment. We said to them, ‘send to us what you propose to do [and] after we receive that we will take the next step’.
“If the employer has support from the government it is kind of difficult. [Especially] when the government is saying right in front of the employer ‘people lose their jobs everyday, it is a fact of life.’”
However, Baha Mar defended its decision to restructure the food and beverage (F&B) department yesterday, claiming its current facilities far outweigh demand.
Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, senior vice president of administration and external affairs, said the Cable Beach hotel’s current F&B offerings are more than double the industry norm.
The executive further noted that employees were informed of the closures more than two weeks ago.
Former Wyndham employees Dolores Baker, Jennifer Rolle and Jane Taylor said they were shocked to be told that they needed to return the hotel’s belongings and return home last Friday.
“They said the union was going to reach [out] to us – that’s it. From Friday we haven’t really heard anything and we’re now trying to find out what is going on,” Baker said.
Jane Rolle, a former employee at Earl’s Restaurant said if she had known, she would have opted for the voluntary separation package when it was on the table.
“We know it is their hotel and at some point in time the hotel has to close, but you do not treat Bahamian people the way they [have],” she said.
“You give us notice, at least two to three weeks notice. You don’t just come there that day and shut us down. That is unfair.”
Rolle, an employee of 20 years at the resort, said she does not believe she will be rehired when the multimillion-dollar facility is completed and is concerned about her ability to meet her mortgage payments.
Amos Major, the union’s chief shop steward on the property, claimed some workers, who were waiting to return to work following the summer closure were called by the hotel while at home and told they were out of a job.
According to Baha Mar’s Heads of Agreement, the resort has the option to close down the Wyndham before the official grand opening in 2014. That decision must be made 12 months prior to the official opening of Baha Mar.
Martin called on the government and Baha Mar to stop “playing around” and clearly indicate whether the resort will be closed down for good, but she said she has very little confidence of a favorably outcome.
By Royston Jones Jr.
Guardian Staff Reporter
