The Tribune

SPEAKING at a tourism symposium at SuperClub Breezes yesterday, Prime Minister Perry Christie emphasised that Bahamians are the most important asset in their country’s tourism industry.

He said in looking at the country, there is that “indomitable spirit” and the philosophy of “Yes We Can” when it comes to Bahamians achieving much success whether in the international arena or locally. Bahamians, he continued, are stakeholders and the value of their participation is more meaningful than that of hotel owners. Hotel owners, he said, can pull up and leave, but Bahamians are here to stay.

This is all true, but we wonder how many Bahamians realise that only they can either maintain, improve or even destroy their way of life by their own indifference.

How, for example, can anyone get the criminals to understand how badly they are damaging their country’s image as a safe tourist haven? Thanks to them and their evil ways, their fellow citizens can no longer boast that ”it’s better in the Bahamas”. The criminals are successfully frightening visitors away.

Then there are all the various branches of the service industries. Too many Bahamians are in the industry for what they can squeeze out of it for themselves, giving no thought to what, with a little more effort, they can contribute to improving the national product.

Tourism is now our main industry as our foreign banks are quietly folding their tents and, with a large chunk of their business, disappearing into the night. They have found other areas where it is easier and less expensive to do business. Bahamians have to learn – and learn quickly — that the Bahamas is not the only pebble on the world’s beaches. Bahamians have to compete with the world — and for this many of them are not equipped.

But it’s this country’s unions that are going to be its destruction. Unionists do not seem to understand that no matter how much they think their members are worth, there is a saturation point when a halt has to be called. A business – whether it be government or private — can no longer afford the value they have put on their labour. At that point of dissatisfaction the employee has to face reality. If he has reached the point where his current employer cannot afford to pay what he thinks he’s worth, then no matter his skills, he will have to move on to find another employer who will be able to afford him. Not easy, you say. We agree. Bahamians don’t seem to understand the seriousness of this country’s economy, and no matter how loudly unionists shout “Strike!” the closer they will come to joining the unemployed breadline — taking too many of their fellow workers with them. Today any Bahamian with a job, no matter how lowly, should praise God until he sees an opportunity to do better.

Regardless of what Bahamians think of Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, BEC’s executive chairman, he is quite correct in his assessment of the unreasonable demands of BEC’s unionists. He bluntly told government that if it were “serious” about “stopping wastage” in the public sector, it would have to start cutting back on union benefits.

He advised government to “stop caving” in to every demand unions make because it was costing Bahamians millions of dollars that “we cannot afford to waste.”

Government caved in, signed the BEC union’s contract, which Mr Miller refused to sign, only a short time later to hear Bahamasair pilots crying “me too!” They wanted just what BEC got – a lump sum with a three-year increment added to their salaries.

Bahamians will continue to pay high utility bills — some will also go without electricity — in part to foot the cost of meeting the demands of the BEC staff, already among this country’s highest paid workers.

“I am glad those Bahamasair pilots did what they did,” Mr Miller commented. “You know why? Because now maybe the government will see the ripple effect their decisions have. It started with BEC, letting them get what they wanted. Now all the unions getting greedy and demanding more. They all want what BEC got. The government interfered in the process and now they are reaping their repercussions.

“The problem,” said Mr Miller, the politicians “are (worrying) about votes and being re-elected. I could care less if you vote me in or not. I may lose, but at the end of the day the Bahamian people will win,” he said.

However, as a result of the surprise sick-out called by Bahamasair pilots, which inconvenienced thousands over the Christmas weekend with many visitors vowing never to return to the Bahamas, it was announced that government’s offer had been withdrawn. At last government realised that today Bahamasair is no longer an essential service and should be shut down.

The airline said that in spite of steps taken to make it more viable, “it has struggled in the face of unsustainable labour costs which account for 44.6 per cent of the airline’s total revenue.” Bahamasair pilots, said management, are the highest paid in the region. It believed that the offer management made to the pilots was “reasonable and places their salaries that much further ahead of the salaries paid to other regional carriers, particularly state-owned airlines.”

Prime Minister Christie having just returned from China is putting all his eggs in the China basket. He is looking to the BahMar development to create the jobs that will put Bahamians back to work.

“In China,” he said, “Mr Sarkis Izmirlian (Baha Mar CEO) and myself, we met with China Export Import Bank, we met with the leadership of the construction company, China Construction Company and we agreed that at the end of March, they will commence operations.

“That means a few thousand people will be employed. That in itself will trigger off better statistics, so whatever the position is today, the position will change dramatically in a few weeks... a couple months,” said Mr Christie.

However, the antics now being played by Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union with the Melia hotel, a branch of the BahMar development, could even dampen the enthusiasm of this foreign group for doing business in the Bahamas.

Apparently the management of the Melia, formerly the Nassau Beach Hotel, have decided that they want to up date the hotel and showcase it as an all exclusive. To do this they will have to change the gratuities system. Some of the employees have balked, believing that despite attracting more visitors, it might interfere with their gratuities. Backed by their union, they have taken a vote to strike.

We suggest that the unionists think deeply on Mr Christie’s words at yesterday’s symposium:

“Bahamians,” he said, “are stakeholders and the value of their participation is more meaningful than that of hotel owners, as the hotel owners can pull up and leave, but Bahamians are here to stay.”

Unionists should remember — push too hard, and you might find that those you are now fighting have packed their bags and left for greener pastures.

Union members should give some serious thought to where they will find themselves should this happen. Have they planned their next move?

We suggest that they wake up and face the hard facts of life. They should settle down and make the best of what they now have. Too many unemployed Bahamians are on the breadline. Do they want to join them? The decision is now theirs.