The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

RESPONDING to reports the Paradise Island Harbour Resort could be facing closure, Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson said his ministry has not received any reports on the matter – but if true, it would be “sad” given the state of the economy.

“Unemployment is at a level that we would not want it to remain. We’re trying to see how we could introduce quite a number of developments to decrease the level of unemployment. And so if you have one worker without a job (or) being made redundant, that is significant, particularly in this type of environment,” he said. “We have lots of individuals looking for work and the fact that they’ve closed down is a very sad occasion for us.

“I knew they were experiencing some problems. Somebody advised me that the hotel was up for auction but I never knew they had intended to make those employees redundant and send them home.”

Mr Gibson added the Department of Labour has not received any notification from the hotel advising them there will be a reduction in the workforce – which is required by law.

“It is unfortunate though that I was not made aware of this,” he said.

The minister also said he will advise the Director of Labour to investigate the reports.

When reached for comment, a Harbour Resort manager said she is “unaware” of a closure and the hotel is still open for business, but did confirmed the resort has been sold to another owner.

As for any employees potentially losing their jobs as a result of the sell, she said - “not to my knowledge” - and referred further questions to general manager Lex Hollander, who could not be reached for comment.

Also yesterday, when asked to comment on the Department of Statistic’s Labour Force and Household Income Survey which claimed a “noticeable decrease” of 1.2 percentage points in the unemployment rate, Mr Gibson said the government welcomes the news.

However, the Labour Minister did reveal he has not yet personally viewed the report.

“I have not seen the results myself, I’ve heard about it but I would like to look at it so I can speak in a more comprehensive way,” he said. “But suffice it to say, whenever the unemployment rate goes down it is good news for everybody.”