The hotel union has warned Kerzner International, the country’s second largest employer, that it can “expect a very cold winter” if it continues to “ignore” the industrial agreement it signed with the union.
In a press release, secretary general of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union, Leo Douglas, also warned members of the Bahamas Hotel Employers Association, generally, and Kerzner International, specifically, to honour the industrial agreement or face “serious repercussions”.
Mr Douglas said it was “most disrespectful” to the union and the sprit of the agreement for Kerzner International to “refuse” to meet with the union to resolve a number of outstanding labour disputes, many of which he claims date back to early 2004. Mr Douglas did not specify what the outstanding disputes involved.
“What makes it worse is that Kerzner International is the leading and biggest member of the BHEA and should be the ones setting the example. They should set the pace in good industrial relations and practices but they seem to be behaving worse than the other members of the BHEA,” Mr Douglas said.
He said it is the desire of the hotel union that Kerzner’s management simply abide by the obligations of the contract, which the union fought hard to secure in December of 2003 after “nearly bringing the tourism industry to a standstill at the time”.
“If Kerzner International continues to operate the way they are presently, they can expect a very cold winter and the only heat they will be experiencing is heat from the membership of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union,” said Mr Douglas in the release.
He said that after 16 months of negotiations, both the union and. Kerzner International are “experiencing many difficulties”, which are preventing them from operating in the good spirit of the industrial agreement they signed.
In December of 2003, union president Pat Bain, Mr Douglas and other members of the BHCAWU executive faced off against the BHEA in an effort to obtain a number of concessions from hotel employers.
An island-wide work-to-rule was implemented, which affected the British Colonial Hilton, the Radisson Cable Beach Resort and the laundry department of Kerzner’s Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.
“We are calling on the Hotel Employers Association in general, especially Kerzner International, to honour the agreement and to stop their violation of the contract or face serious repercussions,” said Mr Douglas.
The Tribune was not able to contact Ed Fields, vice-president of Public Affairs at Kerzner International, for comment on the union’s statement.
By Rupert Missick Jr., Chief Reporter, The Tribune
