By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THOUSANDS of hotel workers were yesterday put on work-to-rule as the Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union declared an “all-out war” with all properties represented by the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association due to a recent decision by the Meliá Nassau Beach Resort.

BHCAWU General Secretary Darren Woods said the union issued an “amber alert” to all members after Baha Mar and the management at its Meliá hotel announced that it would stop collecting union dues as of August 31 and reportedly blocked union executives from accessing the resort.

Labour Minister Shane Gibson yesterday called for the resort to immediately reverse the decision so as not to create an environment of industrial unrest with a negative impact on the economy.

Mr Gibson also warned Baha Mar and the management of Melia to cooperate with its bargaining agent BHCAWU in accordance with the law or face punitive measures.

According to Mr Woods, hotels placed on amber alert yesterday to include: the Lyford Cay Club, British Colonial Hilton, Atlantis, One&Only Ocean Club and the Towne Hotel.

Mr Woods pointed out that Baha Mar’s Senior Vice President Robert Sands was also president of the BHEA, and as a result, immediate action was taken to ensure that the move did not set a precedent for its associated properties to follow.

Mr Woods accused Baha Mar and Meliá’s management of “union busting,” and said the violation of its contractual obligation to collect union fees was the latest blunder in a longstanding plot to rid itself of the union.

“We will do whatever is necessary to protect the rights of Bahamians in the country. This is an all out war,” Mr Woods said.

He added: “This is a serious matter, the Bahamas Constitution gives right of association unless our certificate has been revoked by the minister.”

“For months, even in the past year, (officials at Meliá) have always indicated that they’re not readily available to assist the union. They said they have no obligation to meet with the union.

“They had security officials escort union off the property last week,” he added, “so we wrote to the minister requesting intervention.”

The Melia hotel advised staff last week that it would withdraw the use of its administrative facilities for the deduction and payment of union dues as of August 31.

The letter sent on Friday explained that the decision was made with regard to a recent Supreme Court ruling into the dispute between the resort and the BHCAWU over gratuities.

Supreme Court Justice Roy Jones previously ruled that the Meliá Nassau Beach Resort was not obligated to pay staff a 15 per cent gratuity for serving all-inclusive guests.

The ruling on July 16 also indicated that although the union had entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association (BHEA) in 2003, that agreement was never registered under Section 49 of the Industrial Relations Act, meaning it was deemed to be ineffective in law.

The memo read: “Melia will no longer act in accordance with voluntary check off forms signed by employees for the purpose of having dues deducted from their wages and delivered to the union. (After August 31) no deduction of dues will be made from any employee’s wages and employees will be personally responsible for ensuring that their dues are paid to the union as per the requirements of their membership in the union.”

However, Mr Woods explained that the collection of union fees was entirely separate from the court matter, adding that the 2003 agreement had the same terms of the previous agreement and as such could not be used to justify the decision to cease collection.

He explained that this latest move by the resort was unsurprising given their continued refusal to acknowledge labour laws in the country.

Mr Woods said he supported recent comments made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell, who suggested that Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian be asked “to consider making the appropriate steps to live elsewhere” if he could not conform with the expected conduct of “economic guests”.

“They are in our country as guests,” Mr Woods said, “if they can’t follow the law then they need to leave, for these people to be speaking out against the government in the way they are doing.”

He added: “If you allow your children to get away with something, they will continue until you stop them. If you remember when this company (Melia) first came in here, they terminated all Bahamian managers. This union protested it and we were told that we are not the bargaining agent. We said despite that we are fighting for the rights of Bahamians. They replaced them (the managers) with all foreign workers.”

The union has also called on the assistance of its umbrella union, the National Trade Congress Union of the Bahamas, and unions representing utility workers at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, BTC, and Water and Sewerage.

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Woods also expressed concern over actions taken at the Pink Sands Hotel in Dunmore Town, Eleuthera.

The Eleuthera resort issued a letter to staff last month notifying them that they would have to reapply for employment when the hotel reopens from its annual closing period, he said.

Mr Woods explained that not only was the resort closing earlier than usual on August 14, the mandate for employees to reapply violated the union’s bargaining agreement.

He also pointed out that while employees were made to reapply, the resort’s general manager would stay on in the position.