The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Labour leaders yesterday praised the Government's decision to extension unemployment benefits to end-January 2021 as the correct approach given multiple COVID-19 uncertainties.

John Pinder, director of labour, told Tribune Business the move was the “appropriate thing to do because the government extended the emergency orders up until December. For the four weeks after the end of the emergency period, the employer could determine whether or not they want to make the employees redundant. So it would be good if those employees could get some money during the interim".

The Government-funded unemployment benefit has been extended several times after the tourism industry's post-COVID-19 re-opening was repeatedly delayed. However, yesterday's Atlantis re-opening brought 2,500 staff out of a 7,500-8,000 total back to work, while around 1,800 Baha Mar employees will return on December 17. This means 4,300 hotel staff will be back at work shortly.

Peter Goudie, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) labour specialist, said of the benefits extension: “I think it’s great because then all of those businesses don’t have to make people redundant. With Atlantis opening it is great news. I am very, very hopeful. It also gives people some income that they would not have. We are in tough times.”

"What the employers are saying is that they hope that, with the large hotels opening up before the end of this month, hopefully things will start coming and they will get their people back to work. I just don’t know how many businesses will be able to come back to the market. We will have to see.

"I know some people in [the Atlantis] marina village that are opening up today. The others who have survived, they are just waiting for something to happen. I know of one business in Marina Village that will open today for half a day for the rest of the month of December or until they see how much business there is."