By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter 

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

AFTER disgruntled hotel workers picketed outside of the Atlantis resort over unresolved issues with their industrial agreement, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar expressed his disappointment in the Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union.  

Speaking to The Tribune outside of the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar said he was extremely disappointed that at a critical period like Thanksgiving holiday period, the union would conduct a demonstration - while last night an injunction was taken out against workers from picketing at Atlantis by the Island Hotel Company.  

“As you can imagine our tourism sector was inflicted with millions upon millions of dollars of negative public relations as a result of Hurricane Dorian. The tourism sector is reeling from the effects of that negative public relations,” said Mr D’Aguilar.

“Anything at this time that negatively impacts our tourism sector like industrial action, compounds, causes another problem on top of another problem.”

“This is the period, this is the time of the year where we must demonstrate to the world that despite their lack of knowledge about the geography of The Bahamas and their impression that The Bahamas as a country has been destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, that is very important that when people come here that they find first of all that the country was not destroyed.”

He added: “Over 90 percent of our tourism infrastructure is up and running and they are met with not only a tourism sector that’s up and running operating as it has done but they are greeted with friendly face and exceptional customer service so that they can report back to the world by social media and other means that not only is The Bahamas open for business and the islands of The Bahamas are buy and large operating as they imagine it would, that the service and the experiences have been exceptional.” 

The protest included chefs as well as workers from the housekeeping and maintenance departments. 

Noting Hurricane Dorian passed just two months ago, Mr D’Aguilar said the tourism sector is still at a very sensitive stage.  

“I could have understood the case better had not Hurricane Dorian passed because our tourism sector is at a very sensitive stage right now,” he said.

“In order to ensure that we rebound quickly we must do everything that we can to present our foreign visitors with an exceptional experience so I implore as I’ve done in the past that the employers and the employees work this problem out because (they) will both suffer from it. Not only the employers through reduced booking but the employees through reduced compensation because this is the busiest time of the year.” 

Darren Woods, Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union president, told reporters yesterday the employees are calling for a registered industrial agreement. 

“The changes that would have been made, the shift that would have been changed and persons who would have been reprimanded,” he said of the employees’ frustrations. “The Ocean Club would have moved from weekly to biweekly payments for the employees with a total disregard for the union but in particular with the recent court ruling that says in the absence of a contract the union has no voice and it’s a free for all. 

“The employees have decided today that since the employers were able to do as they see fit, it’s now time for them to do as they see fit. Until such time (when) we are able to get resolution to the changes and subsequent industrial agreement signed and registered because we are not getting up from any table without having an agreement that is able to be registered.”

He added: “We said to them we are going to do whatever is necessary to protect the rights of our members. Our members have been agitating for weeks that they are tired, and this is just the first step in our quest to go to full fledged industrial action on the industry. This is step number one. We are talking but in the same vein while we were negotiating, they were making changes. The employees are taking matters into their own hands.” 

Mr Woods said the union will demonstrate for as long as it takes.  

He said: “However long it takes to be able to bring resolution to the plight of these people because the industry cannot say that they have not benefitted on the backs of these people you see standing here today. We are going to be here as long as it takes. The changes that would have been made that we went to labour for that are still outstanding we want them resolved.

“We aren’t wasting anytime, either each member of the association will have to then sign, or we gone just let it fly. When time to use to strike certificate, you won’t see just them out here you’ll see everyone out here.” 

When contacted, Atlantis Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Ed Fields said the demonstration held yesterday was “unforeseen”.

He said: “Negotiations were moving along fairly swiftly and calmly without any contention. We were supposed to sign today 36 segments of the (industrial) agreement out of 48 that we mutually agreed on. We simply don’t know what this is about.”