The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A trade union chief said he will today write to the Minister of Labour seeking permission for a ‘strike vote’ by his 70 members at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, describing the way in which their work hours had been cut 50 per cent as “ridiculous”.

Obie Ferguson, the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA) president, told Tribune Business that its members at the Sheraton had “voted unanimously” on Tuesday to take a strike vote over the resort’s alleged breach of their industrial agreement.

This newspaper revealed on Thursday how the BHMA was accusing the Sheraton, which is owned by Baha Mar, of cutting its members hours without getting the union’s agreement in advance - something it claimed was “a fundamental breach of the industrial agreement”.

Mr Ferguson yesterday expressed surprise that Sheraton management had taken the approach adopted, given that the union had been “willing” to work in both parties’ interests in the past.

He pointed to the depths of the 2008-2009 global recession as an example, telling this newspaper that BHMA members worked five days a week for only four days’ pay to help the resort through the worst of the downturn.

“I’ve met with the staff at the hotel, and they are very much surprised and shocked that the company would embark on an attempt to unilaterally change the terms, their working hours, without the agreement of the union,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business.

The BHMA president, who holds the same position as head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and is a labour attorney, said its 70 members at the Sheraton had told him their working hours had been cut by 50 per cent.

Such action is normal throughout the Bahamian resort industry during the traditional ‘slow period’ of August-October, and “reduced schedules” for BHMA members have taken effect this week from Monday.

Bahamian resorts typically reduce staff levels, and hours worked, during the August-October period in an effort to match reduced tourist demand and reduce losses that can run into the millions.

The Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort is thus doing nothing out of the ordinary, and is encouraging staff with vacation owing to take it during this time.

However, it is the manner in which the cutbacks have been implemented that appears to have offended the BHMA.

Mr Ferguson said he only received the October 1 letter from Sharon Sands, the Sheraton’s director of human resources, informing the union of the resort’s proposed action on Monday this week.

He explained that this was because he had been ‘out of office’ last week in Inagua, negotiating with Morton Salt over an industrial agreement on behalf of the company’s line staff.

Mr Ferguson added that the union’s position had always been that, even though certain issues were not included in the industrial agreement, it was “willing to work with the company to help maintain its viability and meet some of the concerns expressed”.

“They acted unilaterally, without provisions in the agreement, to change the terms,” he told Tribune Business.

“The workers are upset. It’s possible industrial action could be taken at the hotel. I had a meeting with the workers a couple of days ago, on Tuesday, and they had expressed the view that if it became necessary we would take a strike vote.

“When I return from Freeport tomorrow [today], I will write to the minister asking him to take a strike poll and carry it out,” Mr Ferguson added.

“We are still willing, and maintain the position, that negotiations are far better than draconian tactics to try and frustrate and provoke a situation that need not be provoked.

“Quite frankly, I’m very, very disappointed. I just couldn’t see how they could set a date to reduce the working hours without consultation.”

And Mr Ferguson continued: “This is ridiculous. The union worked with the hotel during the crisis. We worked five days and they paid us for four, and there was no provision in the agreement for that.

“In the interests of the hotel, in the interests of the workers, and in the interests of the economy, we thought it necessary to adopt that position.

“We worked with the hotel, and had no problem. I don’t know what seems to have happened since then.”

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, returning to Nassau yesterday afternoon, said he had not been briefed on the Sheraton matter and was unable to comment yet.