A controversial Family Island project may have already begun shaving employees from its workforce, based on its agreement to halt essential work on the multi-million dollar development.
Now two of the terminated employees – three were reportedly axed recently – are crying foul, one of who insists she was victimized.
In an interview with the Bahama Journal Friday, Karon Rolle, a former spa therapist at the Bakers Bay $500 million development since this past October said after returning to work following the Christmas holidays, she received the news that she had been fired.
“I was supposed to have reported to work on December 26th. But due to illness, I was unable to do so,” Ms. Rolle said.
“I went to the doctor and got a sick slip. During my two days off, I tried to contact management but the main office was closed. I was unable to speak with anyone directly, but I left a message on one of the managers voice mail. But when I went into work this past Wednesday, I was informed by Human Resources – without being asked any questions – that I was no longer employed with Baker’s Bay because of consistent absences from work.”
But Ms. Rolle insists this is not the case.
“The last time I was absent from work was a few weeks ago when I went to the doctor and was out for two days. I even brought in a sick slip,” Only then and this most recent episode was I ever absent from work,” the employee maintained.
Ms. Rolle who moved from Grand Bahama to accept the job was living in staff housing on Guana Cay. She said immediately following her dismissal she was told to remove all of her personal items.
“I told them this would not be possible because it took me more than a day to get my things there. I also explained that the staff ferry had already left. But I was told that the company is not responsible.” Ms. Rolle further charged.
“-I was later told that by 11am today (Friday), I would have to have all my stuff out and that they had gotten clearance to change the locks on the door and do whatever is necessary-. I thought that they would have been humane enough to allow me time to relocate.”
According to Ms. Rolle, making the situation even worse was the fact that despite being dismissed, she had not being paid.
She further argues that she was victimized as a result of her filing a report against the project’s General Manager.
But Ms Rolle was not the only employee recently terminated by the company.
Also reportedly hit with similar news was 23-year-old Dorinda Oliver, who recently took a few days off after discovering that several of her family members had died in last Monday’s Chalks Oceans Airways crash.
“I left Nassau on Wednesday and when I returned to work my supervisor told me that I had to leave because I had not shown up to work when they had asked me to. They had basically fired me. But they never told me when to return to work because my main boss told me that when he heard that it was my family who had died on the plane, I could take (as many) days off,” she said.
This latest development comes only a few weeks after the Bahama Journal reported that the developers of the controversial Family Island project would likely have to lay off 33 people associated with the project because of the undertakings it gave the Court of Appeal a few weeks ago to halt essential work on the Guana Cay project.
At the time, Dr. Livingstone Marshall, senior vice-president of environmental and community affairs revealed that the dismissals will likely happen before the end of this month.
Baker’s Bay officials opted not to comment on the issue of the twin terminations.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
