By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Major Bahamian resorts were yesterday accused of "blindsiding" the hotel union and its members by altering contractually-agreed Christmas bonuses without any prior warning.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union's (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business that despite the joy surrounding the recall of several thousand hotel workers he "cannot allow all their rights to be taken away".

Echoing similar concerns to those raised at the Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise, Mr Woods said this year's change to Christmas bonuses amounted to a "unilateral variation of the terms and conditions" contained in the union's industrial agreement that covers multiple resort properties.

Arguing that members of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA) had failed to consult the union beforehand as required by the industrial agreement, he added that no single hotel had given any hint of the proposed alterations when they were contacted by the BHCAWU over the issue.

Mr Woods said he was now seeking written positions from each Association member on the Christmas bonus in case "we have to go some place else" to resolve the matter, adding that there was "a dispute procedure in place that we have to follow and which may take some time" - hinting that a dispute may ultimately be filed with the Department of Labour.

However, Russell Miller, the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association's (BHREA) president, rejected the union's assertion that it had been "blindsided" over Christmas bonus adjustments made to help the hotel industry conserve scare cash resources following nine months when revenues have all dried up due to COVID-19.

He told Tribune Business he had spoken to Mr Woods "and told him very clearly what our position would be on this", while acknowledging that individual resorts were taking their own approach to the issue. In the case of Atlantis, it is paying a $500 across-the-board holiday bonus to all employee categories.

However, Dave Beckford, a now-former Atlantis employee, said the BHCAWU's industrial agreement requires the Association's members to pay a two-and-a-half week bonus for union members who have been employed for five years or more and two weeks for persons who have worked less than five years.

This was effectively confirmed by Mr Woods yesterday, who said: "We contacted the individual properties as to what they were going to do, and they indicated they were going to pay the Christmas bonus and ham and turkey."

However, he added that several of the Association's members which, apart from Atlantis, also include the British Colonial Hilton, Ocean Club and Melia Nassau Beach Resort, "took quite an unprecedented position to pay a portion of the bonus or pro rate it".

Mr Woods explained that "pro rating" meant a resort calculated this year's Christmas bonus based on staff only working for the three months through to end-March 2020, when COVID-19 struck and the resort industry shut down.

The union's industrial agreement, which although expired is still being adhered to by both sides, stipulates that if a bargaining member is terminated they are paid their full benefits up to the point of release.

Mr Woods said the "pro rating" of bonuses was effectively treating union members as if they are fully terminated, even though they have either been brought back to work or are still furloughed (temporarily laid-off).

He added that benefits such as vacation, as well as seniority and years, continued to accrue during the furlough period and did not stop, meaning they were still eligible for the full-year bonus as stipulated in the industrial agreement.

"We got wind of it, and are writing a letter to them," Mr Woods said of the Association, "to find out when they will pay the balance of the bonus if they cannot pay it now. You cannot unilaterally vary the contract. There was no agreement with the union to vary the terms and conditions.

"While of course we want people to go back to work we cannot allow all of their rights to be taken away. I know the naysayers will say the hotels have not been making any money, but our agreement calls for consultation and negotiation in times of change. Some may say we should have expected this, but no, we could not, as we have an agreement in place.

"If anything changes, you have to talk about it. If they were not going to pay it they had an obligation to tell us at that time. If you knew you were not going to pay the full Christmas bonus at that time, as a result of the hotel being closed, you have an obligation to say here's what we're going to do, and we can go to the members and agree it. It kind of blindsided us."

That assertion was rejected by Mr Miller, who said Atlantis had stated its position on the bonus issue to staff last week. Acknowledging that Association members were approaching it differently, he added: "I spoke to the president [Mr Woods] of the union and told him very clearly what our position on this would be. For them to say it was not indicated or that they didn't know about it is not true."

Some observers will likely view the union complaints as being both greedy and out of touch with reality given COVID-19's devastating impact on the resort and tourism industry, much of which has been shut down since March. Hotels and their owners will have likely exhausted much, if not all, of their cash resources with the focus on survival and job retention until visitor numbers improve.

Atlantis, in its message to staff, said: "We have been through a long journey this year and are about to turn the corner and traverse the path to recovery..... We look forward to closing this year with hope of a brighter future and welcoming more of our colleagues back to work."

And the KIFC franchise operator said it had reached an agreement with the BHCAWU to pay one week’s Christmas bonus tomorrow, along with a ham or turkey voucher valued at $40, with the balance to be paid as soon as possible but no later than the end of the first quarter 2021.

Mr Woods, though, said the $500 Atlantis Christmas bonus was also being paid to those staff who have remained at work since March, adding: "What are you saying?" He said the union was waiting on the British Colonial Hilton and the Ocean Club to respond to its concerns, which relate mainly to the process by which the bonus changes have been made.

"We want to find out officially from them what they are going to do," he told this newspaper. "We want it in writing so that if we have to go some place else we will have documents to show what we did as a result of what they did.

"Granted, this is not an ordinary year, but if you're going to do something there should have been a conversation with then union representative. There's a dispute procedure in place we have to follow. That may take some time but we will follow the procedure as outlined in the law and contract.

"Our intention is to address it in the proper forum. We have to go through certain phases to file an industrial dispute. Under the emergency orders there are limited things we can do."

Many Bahamian workers rely on their annual Christmas bonus to finance present and gift shopping, and purchases of holiday food.