Harrison Williams, vice-president of the BHCAWU, speaking to reporters yesterday, as workers were dismissed from the One &Only Ocean Club.
By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
MORE than 60 employees, including management and line staff, have been fired from the One&Only Ocean Club for “performance based” reasons, with the hotel’s reported dissatisfaction over unsavoury guest reviews about its staff serving as the primary reason for conducting pre-Christmas layoffs.
The Paradise Island-based luxury hotel, in an official statement yesterday, said it is in the process of “reorganising our structure and redefining job descriptions across the resort”. This, it said, has resulted in a “necessary turnover of about 60 positions” at the hotel that will “ensure a streamlining of the guest experience”.
Yesterday’s terminations involved around 15 per cent of the near 400 employees who worked at the hotel.
Ashley McBain, vice-president of corporate communications at Kerzner International, suggested to The Tribune that the terminations were the result of poor employee performance at the hotel, saying that some staff were not working in sync with “performance standards that we’ve set in place, not only in The Bahamas but beyond”.
She said the hotel consequently had “to make the hard decisions, and say who really is pushing themselves forward and adhering to those standards, and maybe who’s not”.
Other senior hotel officials said all positions would be replaced before an extensive hotel-wide training exercise, likely aimed at targeting those performance issues, prior to the hotel’s opening next year following a four-month closure for repairs after Hurricane Matthew in October.
But senior officials in the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) called the terminations, which come three weeks before Christmas, an “outrage” and another indicator that “the labourers in this country basically have nobody to defend them”.
Former One&Only Ocean Club employees, who were anxiously awaiting the resort’s Valentine’s Day re-opening, called the terminations heartless and not Christian.
Robert Farquharson, Director of Labour, told The Tribune the government was made aware of the planned firings. He said the 61 terminated employees were those who were previously utilised to assist in the hotel’s extensive post-hurricane cleanup exercise, but had become expendable as the hotel is now shifting into its “construction phase”.
Nonetheless, Mr Farquharson said he has been assured by Ocean Club Human Resources Director Latoya Kemp that those 61 employees would be reconsidered for re-employment when the luxury hotel reopens on February 14.
“We’re really looking at the resort experience as a whole,” Ms McBain told The Tribune yesterday. “And we need to continue to elevate, and we really take our guest feedback seriously. And I think we’ve got some amazing staff members. But I think some of our staff members who we’re looking to continue to develop, maybe aren’t moving at performance standards that we’ve set in place, not only in the Bahamas but beyond.
“And we need to stay firm on what our standards are, and continue to develop that. And we’re obviously very committed to the Bahamas, but we need to continue to push that. And it’s very important that we streamline the guest experience and really elevate it.”
Training time
Regarding the timing of the layoffs - two months before the re-opening date - Ms McBain said the hotel needed sufficient time to conduct “training programmes to improve the future growth of team members and the overall service quality expected by today’s discerning travellers.”
She added: “We’re looking at this, when we open in February, as a new opening. Just as much training as we would do for any new resort around the world, we’re going to do the same at One&Only Ocean Club. And that takes time. And that training takes a significant amount of time. And we need to be able to put the timing in place, to be able to make sure that when we open the doors on February 14 - which we can’t wait to do - we’re ready and we’re welcoming guests at the utmost level of service.
“We want to be welcoming guests and we want to be doing everything we can for our employees, but that also means that they’ve got a great environment surrounded by people who are all wanting to look forward to the future and continue to grow.”
Yesterday’s termination exercise represents a sour end to the hotel’s hurricane closure saga for the 61 employees, some of whom had been agitating for some form of reassurance during the period amidst their difficulties in meeting their mortgage payments and honouring other financial obligations.
The Tribune understands that the terminated employees have the option of reapplying within six months, and if they decide not to, can apply for a reference letter to aid them in applying for other jobs.
One Ocean Club employee told The Tribune: “These people aren’t Christian. They don’t care about us. They have no heart.” The employee said the General Manager, John Conway, had told staff before there would be no layoffs. “You can’t trust anyone no more,” they said.
Another ringing into a local radio talk show claimed that employees who had been there for 20 or 30 years had been laid off - including one who had been considered for employee of the year - and said the hotel had not appreciated the sacrifices that staff had made. She claimed that it was a cost cutting exercise in terminating long-term staff and that there was jealousy among management over the amount of gratuities earned by employees. She was critical of the role of Nicole Martin, the BHCAWU president, who she said had “not done anything for the people of Ocean Club”.
‘Total surprise’
BHCAWU Second Vice President Harrison Williams decried the terminations as “blatantly wrong”. He also said the firings came as “a total surprise” to the union, given the hotel’s previous assurances that no employees would be terminated during the hotel’s four-month closure.
“The union is extremely outraged by it,” Mr Williams said. “We are upset because again, they should’ve sat with us, they should’ve sent us a letter. The same way they claim they met with the Minister of Labour, and Mr Farquharson, they could have invited my president to that meeting and they all could have sat down together. Normally in situations like this, they would send us a listing of names and we would have sat around the table and have a discussion on what the second stage would be.
“To be honest with you, it’s like (being) heartbroken. This is something else to show that the labourers in this country basically have nobody to defend them. Because if the company can do that, and the labour minister can agree to let these persons go this time of the year, it’s heartbreaking on his behalf too. He should feel for these 60 persons. And it’s really sad.”
He added: “Sixty persons were made redundant, and we had a meeting at Worker’s House with the employees of Ocean Club, and they promised us clearly that there will be no redundancy during this period, everybody would return to work by February. By February 14, all of the employees were supposed to have been back on this property.”
Meanwhile, Mr Farquharson told The Tribune that following a conference call with Ocean Club representatives on Friday, as well as an arranged meeting between Labour Minister Shane Gibson, Mr Conway and Ms Kemp on Monday, the Labour Department was informed that the terminated 61 employees were those who were previously employed during the closure to assist in hurricane cleanup efforts, but had become expendable because of the hotel’s transition to its “construction phase”.
Mr Farquharson said: “Notwithstanding the fact that the employees of the hotel were used for the cleanup and removal of the debris, those employees will not be involved in the construction phase, and as such the hotel terminated their services with effect from (Tuesday).”
Guest complaints
When asked about the rationale behind the hotel’s termination exercise, which Mr Gibson had said in a local news broadcast yesterday was because the Ocean Club was “having challenges with a lot of guest complaints,” Mr Farquharson said he was not in the meeting with Mr Gibson, Mr Conway and Ms Davis on Monday, suggesting that it was then that the hotel’s concerns about the poor guest reviews may have been raised.
“We are saddened obviously that the hotel had to reduce staff at this time, but as you know the tourism and hospitality sector was significantly damaged as a result of the hurricane, and we think this is another example of the real economic plight that the Hurricane Matthew left on our economy,” Mr Farquharson said. “We look forward to these 61 persons being reconsidered for re-employment once the hotel opens sometime in 2017.”
He added: “I was not in the meeting with the minister on Monday. So I can’t say what they discussed with the minister. I would have spoken to the human resources manager yesterday, and she advised me that those persons would be reconsidered for re-employment once the hotel opens.”
The hotel closed its doors to conduct hurricane repairs in October, with an aim to open this month. In October, however, Mr Conway confirmed that the hotel had delayed its re-opening date to February 2017, stating that the hotel was still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
Comments
realfreethinker 8 years ago
Watch perry and shame them now " we were unaware of these pending terminations. we will speak to mangement to see what we can do" By the way. What does christmas have to do with this, if it had happened in april you still won,t have a job.
goodbyebahamas 8 years ago
Like I told you good people before, the investors of your nation are afraid of the PLP mafia; we are sick and tired of them extorting us. Folks this is just the begging, no one is going to tell the PLP government anything they are doing until it's to late. Mark my word, this hotel will close for good, it's just a matter of time. The PLP criminals don't realize that it's the crime that is destroying businesses in Bahamaland, until the crime is controlled, no one will want to invest or live here; period! I'm leaving in three more weeks and will never return until the PLP mafia and it's criminal ways are gone forever.
John 8 years ago
Unfortunately that is what the tourism plant is demanding now: young and vibrant workers as opposed to long and dedicated workers. And so this will be happening more frequently. What Califonia and New York and other US states are doing is raising minimum wage to $15.00 an hour. So not only will these easily transplanted workers earn more when their services are in demand, but their contributions to Social Security and taxes and other health schemes will be more. Then they will have benefits when something like this happens and they become unemployed.
sealice 8 years ago
it's no christian to fire someone? but it is christian to let your business be run into the ground ALA the PLP? They ran Bahmar into the ground before it even got started? Foreign investors don't come here looking for advise they come here looking to make money not pay charity in leiu of government social services.....
banker 8 years ago
There seems to be a real sense of entitlement among the unions and workers. Contrary to the real business world, they think that having a job means a forever pay cheque, even in businesses that have a low quotient of human capital -- unskilled labour. This used to be the case years and years ago, but that doesn't reflect the modern business reality of today.
Once upon a time, if you had more than a couple of jobs on your resume, you were deemed flighty and not a good risk for staying at your job. If you got a job with say the telephone company, that would be the last job that you would ever need, and you retired with a pension. With today's economy and today's reality, that is not the case anymore, in the Bahamas or elsewhere.
The only workers that are really safe in today's reality, are the educated and the professionals. Middle class jobs are fleeting, and that is why Donald Trump was elected president in the US. People want a return to job security which doesn't exist any more.
It is no consolation to the terminated employees of course, but it is the new reality.
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrade Banker do not be so quick to dismiss a company's we won't be seeing you later "firing" cancellation of 61 workers paycheques. The shrug their shoulders and suck they teeths reaction by Labour Minister Shane and the workers Union boss, should generate fear among every worker dependent upon an employers paycheque.
Where in the hell is the PM's shock over his labour minister's reaction to the 61 firings that should be equal to the shock he claims to have suddenly developed over the "lights out" at BPL?
PM, the paycheques were suddenly and permanently stopped for buying food and paying their light bills for the families of 61 workers.
banker 8 years ago
The fear that you talk about, should be generated by reading the newspaper and thinking critically. The Bahamas is on a downhill economic spiral, and has been for years.
The average Bahamian worker is trapped. There is an over-supply of tourism-related skills and an under-supply of jobs. And as John pointed out somewhere, the employer of today wants younger workers. They work for less money, are eager and chirpy when they have no reason to be, and they have no bad work habits yet. In the service industry, the current way of thinking is that one provides the minimum level of service possible for the cheapest price. People like the long-time doorman at Breezers, his name escapes me now, but his ilk are not in demand anymore. Every time I went for a conference there, he would recognise me by name.
All this to say, that if you are a teller at bank, work in the tourism industry, or work in the service industry, the chances that you will not be employed in 5 years is over 50 percent. And there are very little options in this country.
When you mention buying food and paying light bills, those are the human elements behind the jobs, and those elements take a back seat to the job dynamics in the economy. Get ready for a lot more of wailing a gnashing of teeth, and a lot more of "unchristian-like" behaviour from employers.
Employers are not here to look after people -- they are here to make a profit, and if they don't, they pack their georgie bundle and leave. The unions and most people here thinks like my grammy used to say "Erry crab find dey hole." That's not true anymore. Jobs leave and dey een comin' back.
The Right Honourable HA Hubigetty knew that, and he tried to diversify the economy, but the treasonous PLP passed out ham an turkey fer votes, told the folks that the Hubigetty idea was a hologram, and the third pillar plan fell by the wayside pushed by head-valve damaged Crisco Butt.
So more paycheques going to stop suddenly ans permanently. As Dry Bread sing, it's a "Long, Hard Struggle".
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrade Banker I know you want to stay true to your old colonial thinking that NO employer in the year 2016 are in business to look after people... but the same should not be expected from the governing party's labour minister. They, the government were never elected to put a corporation's profit over the welfare of the people...and yes if any don't like it, they sure as hell can pack their foreigner Georgie Bundles but leave their lands and buildings behind. Another damn good reason to lease but never sell our lands to any foreigners. Nobody talks about the millions Georgie Bundles dollars that foreign owned corporations have shipped abroad.
Comrade Banker, any news on what's happening over on Cabbage Beach (the Peoples' Beach) with the native Beach Vendors who were told to pack they Georgie Bundles and get and stay the hell off the ""foreigner's privately owned" beach?
Comrade Banker it doesn't take much intelligence to figure out that if the labour minister is not prepared to step forward to protect the 61 fired workers...then who in the hill can they turn to for help?
banker 8 years ago
We have sold our birthright, our beaches, our dignity and our economy long ago. You call me a colonial because of my pragmatic view of free enterprise. The "Comrade-Shiite" doesn't cut it. We are not a socialist or a communist country. Socialism is an abject, unsustainable economic failure. A job is not a right, except in communism. If you think that I have colonial attitude towards workers, just wait the the oriental overseers grab the reins of the economy. Your pay, if they choose to give it, will be a lot of chopstick-licking and crumb-catching from a dirty, well-used rice bowl.
Bahamians are screwed, and nothing can help them unless the country is torn asunder and remade to a better paradigm.
As fer Hog Island, we say back when "Sure you kin have it if you make us jobs.". So we gave it to them. And now that we don't have it any more, it taunts us by being in our face, and on our land, and we are not allowed to visit or conduct binness there. Thank you fooking PLP.
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrade Banker you never complained once when government were setting the People's public Treasury dinner table to be dishing out BILLIONS Dollars in "corporate welfare (socialism)." Close to a BILLION Dollars of state cash, lands and concessions were handed out to just Izmirlian's Baha Mar.
Fact is in just the five governing mandates of the two former law partners, 82,111 workers were FIRED and no crown cabinet minister from either former law partners administrations stood up to protect the rights of the 82,111 FIRED native workers.
In name Jesus, our governments have shown more concern for the welfare of the Work Permit Workers employed at Baha Mar, Paradise Island, Sandals and Freeport, than they showed for any of the 82,111 FIRED native workers.
banker 8 years ago
What 82,111 fired workers? Is this another one of your statissticks where you said there was exactly 437 Black Friday marchers when there was over 700 in a small section of the photograph?
I do not deny that Bahamians get the short end of the stick when it comes to labour relations. Not at all. And sometimes it is grossly unfair. But in this world, there is the Golden Rule -- he that hath the gold makes the rules. It has always been that way. The foreigners contribute, capital, knowledge and business acumen, and we contribute grunt work. And we would like to think that we are equal partners, but we are not. Low value human capital is expendable, in spite of being told that we are all god's chirren. We are just children of a lesser god.
The_Oracle 8 years ago
Remember the shrink wrapping machine/service near the Bahamasair counter in Miami? Well now it is located in front of Jet Blu and American airlines, wrapping "luggage" non stop for bags boxes going to Cuba. Government may create "employment" in the Civil service, but unless there is a robust private sector to foot the bills,(and provide real employment) paychecks will fall short or stop. No, we bought into these fools and their crap, we will suffer the consequences.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years ago
Crooked Christie was overheard saying: "Don't worry, my government is going to hire all 61 of the workers laid off by One & Only Ocean Club. You know we got an election coming!" In his next breath Crooked Christie said: "Now for sure Halkitis will understand why I told him the VAT rate must be increased to 15% asap!"
asiseeit 8 years ago
Everybody is replaceable, most times with upgrades.
Stapedius 8 years ago
This is unfortunate, but we keep looking for someone to blame. Businesses are trying to stay afloat and we have had a culture of unions with childish tactics for too long. Then we blame the government, the foreigner and everybody including Santa Claus and don't look in the mirror. We accept the ham, the trivial election gifts and when sh!# hits the fan we scrambling to pay bills and looking for someone to blame. The fact is we have many kids pouring out of school with minimal skills and bad attitudes. We have become a nation of tardy, disrespectful people and all because we've been too comfortable for too long. Nobody saves anymore. It's spend it all the moment you earn it. Many of the employees at kerzner have been earning well for years and have no savings to show for it. I mean no one wants to see somebody lose their job but maybe we will learn to wake up and be more self reliant and creative in our country.
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrades! When we travel the world many people of foreign lands speak of our Bahamaand as being the envy of the world...and never once have they credited the foreigners among us for our many achievements as a nation and all the glory has always gone to its friendly and always welcoming people for making us who and what we have become as a country. Some of you really need to stop running our own people into the gutter. It will not help us overcome the hills we must climb to return our Bahamaland back to her people friendly and tourism safe days.
May God Continue To Shine His Blessings & Guidance Over We Bahamaland's Most Valuable Natural Resource....Her Friendly & Welcoming People!
banker 8 years ago
Everything that you say about us was true in 1973. It een true no more. Invoking the "God keep blessin' us" clause ain't gonna help. It is the clause most invoked when a child is born out of wedlock -- "God could bless it and it might grow up to be Prime Minister" and the kid in a few short years is dying in the street while the sun bakes his blood into the pavement.
John 8 years ago
Ok posters here's a mannequin challenge for you: respond or cop out ok five questions: If you was Perry Gladstone Christie today what would you do about the following: 1 crime 2. The economy and unemployment 3 the issue of taxes more specifically where government says taxes are uncollected but Bahamians feel they are overtaxed 3 Bah Mar 4. BPL 5. Corruption
truetruebahamian 8 years ago
If they are not working out for the positions in which they are employed, then those positions should be availlable for those who can make and work those positions with excitement and sustainable forward thinking attitude. Those who lost the positions were not acting in either their or the employers' best interet and should be encouraged to seek out the occupations that give best reward to both themselves and the world and community that they might beneficially serve with their talents.
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrade TrueTrueBahamian, may I inquire of you how you know other than what you've read and heard via the media that the 61 workers were fired because they lacked excitement and sustainable forward thinking attitude toward the hotel's guests? Is there even a possibility that the stated excuse for their firings is but a whitewash for something other than what the minister of labour has repeated but never once asked the hotel's owners for proof that this was in fact the real justification for firing the 61 workers.
Have you no respect for your own people? How can you trust the word of a minister of labour when he jumped quickly and high to side with the word of the hotel's management without even asking for evidence disciplinary records that everyone of the 61 workers were equally justified under the labour codes and good hotel management policies.
What if the minister of labour were now to demand the performance records for ministerial of every work permit holder to see if they are the smiley workers they say our very own people aren't. Maybe the foreigners are paid higher wages and treated better to keeps them smiling?
Alex_Charles 8 years ago
unchristian for terminating you? LOOOOOOOOL
GTFOH with that mess. As long as they followed the law and regulations on this regard it's perfectly normal. It's never good news to lose a job, however, do not get a sense of entitlement... this is capitalism after all.
I hope they find employment and have adequate savings.
jackbnimble 8 years ago
This was planned and I have no doubt they came up with the "poor service" reason after they saw what happened at Sandals.
I know people who were there for years and all were not bad employees. Y'all better wake up!
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrades! Consecutive Ministers of Labour from both of the two main political parties along with the Union Leaders have over the years have never stepped in to protect the 82,111 workers FIRED from their jobs. Seems they have more concern for not upsetting the corporations bosses profit carts than the welfare of 82,111 workers. What's next some more state tax dollars and concessions to bribe the corporate masters not to FIRE even more "non work permit" workers?
Hopefully, now the Union Bosses will wake up to why they never should have protested alongside the Back Friday Protest who no matter how much they spin their reasoning - it was never about the common working man's and woman's ability to stay on the job welfare.
Comrades don't you be fooled that it's all about all of God's People and all are with equal rights under the Flag their Bahamaland. It's total bullshit!!
Comrades! Yes, we need a house cleaning but not its to be at the whitewashing expense of the working man's and woman's... with familiar government faces and union bosses reappearing years after years while refusing to call the shots in favour of the workers.
banker 8 years ago
Obviously a housecleaning exercise. You don't need to read between the lines for this one.
Economist 8 years ago
The only reason that there is so much noise in the market is that this is a foreign owner. "How the foreigner mistreats Bahamians and how bad done by we are."
Were was the noise when Tiger closed Solomon's Mines? There wasn't much talk either when he closed City Market.
We only make noise when a foreigner is involved because we have been taught (by the PLP especially) that when a foreigner lays you off you should run to the politicians, labour department and especially Immigration to put pressure on the foreigner to hire you back.
Over the years these politicians departments have protected their voter regardless of the circumstances.
Groidal 8 years ago
It's outrageous that the white, foriegn owners of Ocean Club are allowed to just waltz in and fire Bahamians who done been at the hotel for many years.
The fact that most of these Bahamian workers don't give a rats a$$ about the customers they're serving, and couldn't put 4 words together in a coherent sentence, much less spell those words properly, shouldn't be an impediment to their employment.
Tourists should accept indifferent, incompetent, illiterate and ill mannered staff in the name of Bahamas and Bahamians!
After all, it's only fair!
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