On Thursday, despite an executive order by Labour Minister Vincent Peet, issued two says before the vote, directing Pat Bain, president of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering & Allied Workers Union, and J Barrie Farrington, president of the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association, to try and iron out their differences, and report back to him within one week, 1,057 BHCAWU members voted to strike.
A refusal by the BHEA to agree to across-the-board salary increases, the re-evaluation of gratuities, particularly for room attendants, and other benefits, reportedly precipitated the strike vote.
The union also wants a four-year industrial agreement, as the five-year agreement proposed by the Association was considered too long.
In a press statement, Mr Farrington said that the spectre of an unstable service industry could discourage large groups of tourists from visiting The Bahamas for years to come, with national economic implications.
Minority could affect majority
“With most of our population benefiting from the tourist industry, it is unfortunate that such a relatively small number of employees are able to try to decide the economic future of so many,” he said. “Could the union really be arguing to its members that receiving no wages or gratuities during a strike is somehow preferable to the comprehensive and reasonable package of pay and gratuity increases being offered by the Association?”
The BHEA was disappointed, he continued, that despite being presented with a realistic and workable financial plan which would benefit all parties involved, a minority of the bargaining unit had taken a strike vote.
Stakes high
Although the Bahamian tourism sector has the potential to grow, since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, economic conditions have gotten progressively worse, Mr Farrington stated.
This, coupled with increased competition, travel safety concerns, rising costs and declining room occupancy rates, he went on, have put enormous pressure on revenue and profitability within the hotel sector.
“At the same time,” he cautioned, “we must take responsibility for our actions. The stakes are very high if this vote leads to a strike; it will worsen already depressing economic conditions by inflicting long-lasting damage to the industries reputation.”
“In the event of a strike, not only could current guests decide to cut short their trips, but when they get home they will undoubtedly spread the bad news to others considering a vacation for the upcoming peak season,” Mr. Farrington said.
Through the talent and dedication of its employees, he said, the hotel sector has become established as a highly reputable and renowned tourist destination.
“But while it takes years of hard work to develop a reputation, it can be destroyed in only days,” the BHEA head warned. “That is why we urge the union to proceed responsibly. Last week’s strike vote could force all of us to pay a heavy price well into the future.”
Contingency plans
Following the strike vote last week, a concerned Robert “Sandy” Sands, general manager of the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino, said that the timing of a strike so close to Christmas was not in anyone’s best interest.
“We have plans that we can put in place,” he said, but “certainly we wouldn’t be able to deliver the type of service that we would anticipate but services should not be disrupted too significantly.’
A strike during the hotel’s busiest season, he said,
would send “the wrong message to the outside world,” and “would certainly put a damper on the booking pace that we may be presently enjoying and also send the wrong message to investors.”
By Vanessa Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
