The investigative team appointed to scrutinize relations between the management of the five star Four Seasons Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma and hotel workers employed there has uncovered several labour infractions, but failed to prove any racist practices as hotel union officials claimed, according to Acting Labour Minister Shane Gibson.
The team held four meetings over the last few day; two with Four Seasons management and two with hotel workers at the property.
Minister Gibson, who has a long history as a trade unionist, told the Bahama Journal that the team discovered that the hotel was not giving new employees the full 90 day probation period that they are entitled to, according to labour laws.
ﾓWhat was discovered is that management was in breech of the Employment Act, in one of those casesﾅThe employees were not given the 90 day probation. They were given a 60 day probation, which is wrong,ﾒ Minister Gibson said.
He explained that on that particular score, individuals were fired without having completed the full probationary period.
Last Tuesday, officials from the Department of Labour were sent to Exuma to try to placate industrial tensions at the resort, where some employees complained of racial discrimination and unfair working conditions. The resortﾴs management has vehemently denied the allegations, maintaining that it is a fair employer.
Executives must now deal with a new development; the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union on Thursday hand delivered an application for union representation to General Manager Antoine Chahyan.
The union wants to become the bargaining agent for Four Seasons non-managerial employees.
By law, the resortﾴs management has 14 days – from the date of the application to August 19 ﾖ to respond to the hotel union which claims to have the required 50 plus one percent to unionise.
As for the findings of the investigative team which has been holding meetings with both sides, Minister Gibson reported that officials also discovered management issued no copies of contracts that it had signed with employees. This was another chief complaint lodged by hotel workers.
According to the acting labour minister, while hotel executives acknowledged that they were short staffed, they refused to admit that they had threatened employees who did not want to work overtime, as had been alleged.
Members of the investigative team did find, however, that management had not hired any Bahamians in middle managerial positions, Minister Gibson said. This is a major bone of contention.
ﾓI thought the employeesﾴ cries were heard and time would tell if management would change the way it does business and we are going to do follow up checks,ﾒ he said.
ﾓI felt that the employees were skeptical. I believe that they felt that after we left management would not change.ﾒ
Nonetheless, striking a compromise, Minister Gibson said he had secured a commitment from Mr. Chahyan to make changes.
Tensions between management and the hotel union reached a boiling point last week, eventually leading to the Member of Parliament for Exuma Anthony Moss, Exuma administrator Everette Hart and the Director of Labour Harcourt Brown all getting involved to conduct a thorough investigation.
Hotel union officials have confidently maintained the position that they have sufficient support from among the 480 employees at the resort to represent them.
ﾓIt would be a mistake for Four Seasons to take on the Bahamian workers at Four Seasons and challenge their right to union representation based on the numbers we have already signed up,ﾒ General Secretary of the hotel union Leo Douglas told the Journal on Friday.
ﾓI say no more at this time.ﾒ
Mr. Douglas and the president of the hotel union Pat Bain also travelled to the Exuma to speak with hotel workers late last week.
A union official informed the Journal that the employees are still ﾓupset,ﾒ claiming that Minister Gibson didnﾴt ﾓgive them any justice.ﾒ
The official said for now, the union has taken the position that it will suspend all talks with Minister Gibson, preferring to deal directly with Labour Minister Vincent Peet who is expected to return to the country shortly.
Yvette Rolle-Major, The Bahama Journal
