FORMER Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes said yesterday it is “unfair and uncaring” for the Meliá Nassau Beach resort to withhold earned gratuity payments from its workers during these “difficult economic times.”

“It is clear that the workers at Meliá are entitled to their full earned gratuity payments pending a final order from the Supreme Court or a negotiated settlement between the Union executives and management,” Mr Foulkes said in a press statement.

“The fact that Meliá is an all-inclusive resort does not give the management the right to arbitrarily change the terms of the bargaining agreement.

“Many of the workers at Meliá are paid minimum wage and they are dependent on the gratuity to supplement their income to meet their commitments,” he added.

Last week, Minister of Labour Shane Gibson told reporters that he “totally disagrees” with the hotel’s decision to withhold some gratuity payments from workers, saying it is causing “serious concerns” for those employees. He said he wrote to Baha Mar executives asking that they dole out gratuity payments pending the resolution of their court case.

The resort and the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCWU) are locked in a court dispute after Baha Mar executives announced in December a reduction in the standard 15 per cent gratuity rate because it is moving to an all-inclusive model where food and amenities are covered in one price.

Baha Mar has said it was forced to cease the normal gratuity payments at the Meliá but only after 10 months of failed negotiations to bring an agreement with the union on a new arrangement.

Last Wednesday, Baha Mar released a statement on the matter.

“We have repeatedly offered to pay the gratuities to the employees on fair and generous terms that are more generous than other contracts with the hotel union.

“The Ministry of Labour has been tremendous in helping us try to reach even a temporary solution with the union for the payments.

“Sadly, it remains the union, not the hotel, that stands between the employees and their gratuities. We remain willing and able to distribute the gratuities funds immediately upon an agreement with the union,” Baha Mar’s statement added.

On Christmas Eve, Baha Mar and its Meliá resort obtained a Supreme Court injunction barring the hotel union from taking any form of industrial action over the matter.

In February, the Supreme Court upheld this injunction.

The matter is expected to head to trial on May 1.