By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday railed against the government over the mass redundancy action at Sandals resort, stating that it was clear officials have learned nothing from previous matters of this nature.

Mr McCartney said the announcement that more than 600 workers were terminated has stirred feelings of déjà vu among hotel workers, thousands of whom were made redundant last year by Baha Mar’s court appointed provisional liquidators.

He also said that labour relations in the country have deteriorated, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Labour Minister Shane Gibson.

“Instead of fulfilling his mandate to protect the interests of Bahamian workers, this Minister of Labour Shane Gibson has stood idly by as thousands of once gainfully employed Bahamians are forced into the unemployment lines,” he said.

“Sadly, his most recent protestations about the way Sandals has handled its employees ring hollow and empty. While the ongoing tensions between the resort and its employees grabbed headlines, the minister was radio silent and failed to intervene on behalf of those workers.”

More than 600 employees were made redundant yesterday as the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort closed for maintenance, with plans to re-open on October 13.

Employees were reportedly given less than two weeks notice of the impending closure.

When the news broke earlier this month, Labour Director Robert Farquharson said his office was made aware of the potential closure through the media.

Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson accused Sandals Royal Bahamian of union busting, suggesting that the closure may be connected to an ongoing dispute with the bargaining unit for the all-inclusive Cable Beach resort’s employees.

The Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU), which falls under the TUC umbrella, has been seeking to negotiate an industrial agreement with the hotel since 2009.

Last week, Sandals Royal Bahamian General Manager Gary Williams and the resort’s Financial Controller Ronnie Mirza both appeared in a Magistrate’s Court for failing to negotiate with the union, unlawfully terminating several union executives and intimidating union executives.

The men pleaded not guilty and were each granted $5,000 bail with one surety.

Yesterday, Mr McCartney said the DNA strategy on tourism placed more value on Bahamians working on the front lines of the industry, and was guided by an agenda that clearly elucidates the role of unions and encourages open dialogue and communication.

“As in the case of Baha Mar, this Christie administration was again, seemingly blindsided by the news of Sandals’ closure and in the wake of that news has offered no real comfort or strategy in dealing with the matter moving forward.

“At a time when economic conditions around the country continue to worsen, when unemployment continues to skyrocket, when Bahamian families struggle to afford even the most basic of needs and in the face of yet another seemingly ‘teachable moment’ it would appear, however, that this Christie government has learned nothing.”

Mr McCartney pledged that his party’s tourism strategy will target new and creative sub-industries within the tourism sector in a bid to protect Bahamians from the “fickle mercies” of foreign investors.

“What hotel workers in this country need now,” he said, “more than ever, is a government that will work to protect their interests first. An administration committed to not just the growth and development of the current tourism product, but also to creating opportunities for Bahamians to own a part of the country’s number one industry.”