By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Unionised line staff at San Salvador’s Club Med resort yesterday gained a 9 percent pay rise with the signing of a new industrial agreement that covers a property enjoying 85 percent occupancy rates.

The deal signed with the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) also re-established benefits staff held prior to the resort’s closing due to COVID-19. The Columbus Isle property re-opened last year after a nearly three-year shut down and resumed operations with more than 75 percent of its pre-pandemic staff.

Darrin Woods, the union’s president, said industrial agreement talks had begun in 2019 and resumed this year with employees requesting the benefits they previously enjoyed to be reinstated.

He revealed that while a dollar amount could not be assigned to the agreement, the 180-plus employees will receive a 9 percent pay increase over the agreement’s lifetime, a five-day work week, pension fund, Christmas bonuses and a sick leave incentive to “encourage productivity”.

Mr Woods said: “There’s a 9 percent increase, and we didn’t sit down to start looking at dollar value. One of the main focuses that our people said to us is whatever we had we want back. We said to them: ‘Listen, all of the benefits that you would have been receiving, they were phased in’, so we told them the main thing was to get them established.

“At the end of this contract, they will have four weeks’ Christmas bonus. When you talk about sick pay and the like there’s even a bonus for them if they do not take sick pay, which we believe helps to encourage the productivity in terms of person showing up for work.

“One of the things that was advanced by management is what they call emergency leave. There are persons on the spur of the moment who recognise they can’t come to work. They have to call in days that they can’t come to work for ‘XYZ’ reason and that is not held against them.”

Mr Woods said airlift is a ‘major concern’ for Club Med as there is only one airline that operates flights from Nassau to San Salvador. He added that the runway has been extended and lights installed so the airport can accommodate night-time flights.

The union chief said: “One of the major concerns coming forward is because, of course, you know, we have just one flight - one airline that goes from Nassau, but of course because we also have the international airlines come in.

“If we can get more of the local flights being able to move from Nassau to San Salvador because it’s one flight.... you go in the morning, once a flight leaves, that’s it until another day. Unfortunately, we had a situation where the only flight coming out yesterday was cancelled so some more of the employees that have wanted to be a part of this signing are not here today.

“The runway was extended and also there’s lights on the runway, which allows for night flights coming in and out. And, of course, the major carriers are able to also benefit from it.”

Angeles Martinez, Club Med’s regional human resources director for North America, said the resort is currently running at 85 percent occupancy and expects the trend will continue through the summer.

She said: “The wonderful thing about this particular club is that it sustained certain levels of occupancy. Right now, I can tell you that we are hitting 85 percent occupancy, and it pretty much stays the same throughout the summer. Then we’re going to be closing and, once we reopen for the winter season, these levels tend to go back up. So, it is very linear in terms of occupancy.”

The BHCAWU also signed an industrial agreement with Orange Hill yesterday, securing the 10 employees at the family-run hotel a 4 percent salary increase and a housekeeping gratuity. The previous industrial agreement expired in April.

“This was one of the ones we were able to retain all of the benefits, which is Christmas bonus, there’s a 4 percent increase, and that was because they received an increase at the end of the contract which expired April 19,” said Mr Woods.

“Also, we were able to introduce down there the housekeeping gratuity. They’ve only always had food and beverage gratuity. Now, there’s a gratuity on housekeeping and that is pooled amongst the employees. So, all of the gratuities are there, inclusive of the food and beverage gratuity, which is now pooled, which improves their take home.”