The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Atlantis wants “responsible wage increases” to be the outcome of the hotel sector’s industrial agreement negotiations, its top executive told thousands of staff yesterday.

Audrey Oswell, the Paradise Island-based resort’s president and managing director, did not define what she meant by “responsible increases” but her hotel union counterpart interpreted it as a sign of employer willingness to conclude a deal almost seven years after the previous one expired.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business he was “very confident we’ll be able to iron out an agreement” in the New Year given that both parties appeared ready to “get this behind them”.

Negotiations will halt between December 19 and January 6 for the Christmas and New Year holidays, but Mr Woods indicated that his definition of a “responsible wage increase” takes the fact union members have enjoyed no salary/benefits rise since 2012 into account.

He spoke out after Ms Oswell, in a note to Atlantis employees that was obtained by Tribune Business, gave what was termed as “an update on labour contract negotiations” between the union and the employer bargaining agent, the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA).

Talking up the advances made to-date, Ms Oswell wrote: “To-date we’ve mutually agreed to 75 percent of the non-financial provisions of the agreement. We continue to make strong progress on negotiating a labour contract with the union.

“As of this writing we have mutually agreed to, and signed, 40 of the 48 non-financial sections of the agreement.” However, it is now that the hotel industrial agreement talks are reaching their most potentially contentious and volatile stage - discussions over the financial terms and conditions, which in particular means the extent of any wage and benefit increases for union members.

Acknowledging this, Ms Oswell’s December 11 note to staff said: “In this final phase, we are focused on negotiating responsible wage increases and compensation that reflect the excellent work of our team members.”

Atlantis and other hotels that comprise the BHREA will not want to reveal their negotiating hand publicly, hence no definition of “responsible increases” was provided. But, given that labour - alongside energy - represents the hotel industry’s biggest expense item, the Paradise Island resort and its counterpart cannot afford for any deal to unduly disrupt their profitability and operating models.

“The BHREA and the union have also agreed to a holiday recess between December 19, 2019, and January 6, 2019,” Ms Oswell revealed. “Negotiations will resume immediately following the break.”

She also reiterated Atlantis’s position on the Thanksgiving Day picketing that took place outside the resort as the peak winter tourism season kick-started, saying: “As you may know, following the union action during Thanksgiving, Atlantis commenced - and was granted - a court injunction against the union to prevent future union picketing and industrial action.

“We believe that labour action is not only unlawful but also unwarranted while we are engaged in negotiating with the union with the shared goal of a signed agreement. The injunction does not affect our ongoing negotiations which are taking place off-property.”

Mr Woods, confirming the Christmas holiday pause in industrial agreement talks, told Tribune Business he was unable to explain what Atlantis meant by “responsible wage increases” but was “very confident” an acceptable deal will be reached in 2020.

“I’m just confident,” he said. “When the matter is outstanding for as long as this, and what they’re sending out to the employees suggests they want to get this behind them, I’m confident we’ll be able to iron out an agreement that the members will be satisfied and happy with. The good master will not let his children suffer; they’ve been suffering for too long. No storm lasts for ever; they may linger long but they go away.”

The last industrial agreement between the union and employer bargaining unit expired in early January 2013, and the member hotels have operated as if its terms and conditions have remained in effect ever since.

Much of the responsibility for the delay in negotiating a new deal lies with previous BHCAWU leadership, which failed to submit a proposal for a new agreement 90 days’ prior to the old one’s expiry - as they were mandated to do.

Since then, hotel employees have complained that their wages and benefits have stagnated, and are unable to match the significant cost of living increases stemming from VAT’s 2015 implementation and subsequent increase to 12 percent plus sky-high energy costs.

Mr Woods, meanwhile, said he found it “amazing” that Atlantis is speaking out. “We’re not negotiating with Atlantis,” he added. “We sent them all individual proposals, and they indicated the association is negotiating on their behalf. We’re negotiating with the BHREA, so I don’t know why one property has a lot to say.”

As for Atlantis’s position on the Thanksgiving Day industrial action, the hotel union chief said it was for the courts - not the resort - to determine if this had been unlawful. “You cannot be judge and jury at the same time,” Mr Woods said. “That’s your version. If that’s what floats your boat, go ahead. We’re back before the court in the New Year and I’m limiting what I say so they can’t use it against us.”