The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

RENEW Bahamas CEO Michael Cox was dismissive yesterday of claims that the landfill operator had backed out of agreements to pay several former employees “in full,” as current staff members continue to agitate for delayed salary payments.

Mr Cox told The Tribune that Renew Bahamas has come to an agreement with several of its former employees and vendors on outstanding payments, stating that those persons could expect to be “paid in full” by July 31.

“This is a group of five to six employees that we have outstanding payments for. We have agreements in place where those employees will receive payment by the end of this month; we will have them paid in full,” he told this newspaper.

On Monday, The Tribune spoke to four former workers at the landfill site.

While none of them wanted to be named, all claimed that their dismissal from the property came as a surprise and once they were let go, no clarification was provided on when they could expect payment.

Additionally, several workers still employed by the company noted that persons on staff have not been paid for the past three pay periods – a claim Mr Cox denied.

“We have communicated with all employees, those still with us and those that are no longer with us. We have been open and upfront on the process that is going on. Up to two times a week, we have discussions with the employees to make them aware of where we are,” he said.

Mr Cox continued: “This is a stressful time for everyone involved and that is why management made the decision to keep the dialogue open with all the workers. We understand the position many of these workers are in and we want them to feel assured that we are doing our best to address their concerns.”

However, one disgruntled employee who contacted The Tribune yesterday had a different story. The worker claimed that whenever the matter of overdue salary payments was raised with an executive, employees were told that the official had “more important” things to worry about.

Renew Bahamas has been plagued with issues in recent months.

Earlier this month the landfill management company announced that 40 employees were made redundant at the Harrold Road dumpsite.

Additionally, the company announced that Mr Cox, former chief operational officer (COO), had replaced Gerhard Beukes as CEO.

According to various reports, the company has been cash-strapped for most of the year, and as a result, has approached the Christie administration to re-work the parametres of its operational contract in an effort to make the deal more profitable.

In a recent interview with The Tribune Business, Mr Beukes confirmed that company’s financial situation isn’t good.

Mr Beukes described Renew’s deal as “a classic frontier investment,” suggesting that there had been numerous “unknowns” that Renew Bahamas was now aware of.

In addition to fire and security issues, industry experts have continued to suggest that Renew over estimated the money it could gain from a recycling effort in the Bahamas.

Moreover, experts have also stressed that the millions invested by Renew have to be considered as a loss to this point.

Despite these realities, Mr Cox on Monday seemed confident that major fixes were on the horizon, contending that talks with the Christie administration were still “ongoing.”

To date, Renew has not made public how many employees are still employed at the company or specified how much money is owed to former employees. Renew Bahamas’ current agreement will run through 2019.