The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court Justice has further adjourned proceedings over an ongoing gratuity dispute between the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union and the Melia Nassau Beach Resort until next week.

Darrin Woods, BHCAWU secretary general, told The Tribune yesterday that Justice Roy Jones adjourned the trial to May 13. Until then, an injunction barring the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) from engaging in industrial action over the dispute remains in effect.

The dispute stems from an announcement last year by Melia officials that there would be a reduction in the standard 15 per cent gratuity rate because it is moving to an all-inclusive model where food and amenities are covered in one price.

According to Baha Mar, the resort was forced to cease the normal gratuity payments at the Melia but only after ten months of failed negotiations to bring an agreement with the union on a new arrangement. However, Mr Woods has said that the union would not accept a reduction in gratuity because, in most cases, the gratuity represents the majority of the employees’ take-home pay.

On Christmas Eve, Melia officials raced before the courts to obtain the injunction from Justice Jones at a hearing where only their lawyers were present. The injunction’s terms are designed to be “watertight” and effectively prevent the union from initiating any form of industrial action.

However, Robert “Sandy” Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president for government and external affairs, has said that the resort owner and Melia were prepared to meet with the union at any time, and for as long as it took, to reach an amicable solution on the gratuity issue.

The union, meanwhile, has stated that its willingness to “compromise” would only be guaranteed if its members suffered no reduction in their “take-home” income.