The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER foreign employees of mega-resort Baha Mar have again made calls for a resolution to the “injustice” they have suffered after not being paid money owed to them nearly 19 months after they were let go from the hotel.

In an open letter to the government, which was also sent to The Tribune, the expatriates said that despite months of promises, no explanation has been sent to them about why they have not been paid, adding that emails and calls have not been returned.

They questioned why the collective group of expatriate employees had been discriminated against and asked how officials planned to fix the issue, pointing to specialised skill sets they provided to the resort.

The letter, addressed to officials including Prime Minister Perry Christie, government advisor Sir Baltron Bethel, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Baha Mar President Graeme Davis, Liu Liange, vice chairman and president of the Export Import Bank of China (CEXIM) and Claims Committee Chairman James Smith, among others was sent last Friday, the day of Baha Mar’s soft opening.

Mr Smith was not available for comment yesterday up to press time, but last month he told The Tribune that CEXIM had not given authorisation to pay the foreign workers.

Although last year the Christie administration directed the Claims Committee to prioritise paying former Bahamian employees of Baha Mar, Mr Smith’s revelation at the time went against the widespread expectation that former expatriate employees of the resort would be paid from what was left after the money given to former Bahamian employees, Bahamian creditors and foreign creditors is subtracted.

“Despite multiple attempts to communicate with those copied here, in hopes of a resolution, it is with deep regret that this appears to be our only alternative,” the letter read.

“We are members of the former Baha Mar team. We brought experience from across the globe, to help build a foundation for new, thriving career opportunities for Bahamians and a stunning destination for international visitors. We were a part of the team committed to prove true on the forecast that this single development would bring a 13 per cent growth to the country.

“This may not be our country of origin, but we invested commitment and hard work into wanting to see it succeed.

“Almost 19 months have passed since the Baha Mar team was dismantled, following the legal actions, and we were all terminated. Where the company was not in a place at the time of termination to provide what was contractually owed to the employees, we all believed in a better tomorrow. We worked hard to get back on our feet and found creative ways to move ahead.

“And then, months after promises were made and never fulfilled, we received the great news through media sources that funds were granted to compensate due wages to all employees of Baha Mar. But somehow at this juncture, unbeknownst to us, ‘all employees’ took on a new definition than the ‘Baha Mar team’ we had known.”

The letter continued: “Our Bahamian colleagues - very rightfully so - received what was dutifully owed to them. Yet, despite being all employed under the same company, we were segregated out and did not receive payments. No explanations were sent as to why owed funds for time served, repatriation and vacation were not paid, (as well as non-refundable rent, school tuitions and other obligations) and calls and emails were not returned. Formerly one team, ‘we’ were now labeled as the ‘former expatriates of Baha Mar’.

“Despite all of this, assumptions were made that justice would prevail and maybe these things just take time. After all, funds were allocated, our colleagues were paid, so why should we question that a resolution wasn’t imminent?

“Yet, coming up on almost two years later, there is still no clarity, zero response and no compensation has been provided. Moreover, claims that Bahamian subcontractors, Bahamian companies and US subcontractors needed to complete the resort have been paid, but the expatriate claims have still not been addressed.”

In December, Mr Smith said former expatriate employees of Baha Mar would be paid a “high figure” by the committee.

During a previous court supervised bankruptcy proceeding, Mr Smith said, there were indications that a “special group of expats” deserved preferential treatment equivalent to creditors.