The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

PAYOUTS to line staff employees at the Grand Lucayan resort should be done this week or early next week “at the latest,” Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday.

When contacted by The Tribune for comment on the state on negotiations between the government and the Commonwealth Union of Hotel Services and Allied Workers Union, the Freetown MP asserted: “That matter has been completely settled.”

Mr D’Aguilar said as far as he was aware, cheque payments to affected staff should be distributed between today and the early part of next week.

When asked to specify the amount of workers paid and the dollar amount given, Mr D’Aguilar said media reports of 164 workers, and $3.2m payments reflected the final numbers agreed to in negotiations.

Contrary to claims a day earlier from the CUHSWU, Mr D’Aguilar said those final numbers did not include any form of compensation for owed wages or back pay.

He told The Tribune, despite “many requests” by union officials, the government decided to wrap a negotiated portion of all the “non-binding” requests into an ex-gratia payment.

This comes on the heels of Mr D’Aguilar’s recent insistence that the Minnis administration is moving to quickly to resell the resort it purchased last fall for $65m.

The government has said it expects the bidding process for the property to close by mid-February, and the property to be sold early this year.

Labour Minister Dion Foulkes had said the government was looking to hopefully settle payouts with 160 line staff at the resort this week, and settle with management staff in the next couple of weeks.

According to Mr D’Aguilar, negotiations with the management staff is underway, with a resolution expected soon.

The government this week announced a $100m port development project with the Carnival Corporation for Grand Bahama.

That development is expected to employ over 1,000 people in direct and indirect jobs.

The Tribune also exclusively revealed on Wednesday a major project between Mexican developers ITM and Royal Caribbean is under discussion which would involve major new cruise berths in Freeport and the purchase of the Grand Lucayan