The union came to the aid of two more workers after 14 stewarding supervisors claimed they were called into a meeting at Human Resources on Friday morning and informed that their positions were being made redundant.
BHCAWU Second Vice-president Lionel Morely told The Freeport News yesterday that the union is taking grave exception with the resort management’s style and anti-Bahamian approach.
“We are accusing management of either being incompetent or clearly being on a witchhunt to ostracize our employees and making it quite difficult for our members,” he said.
Calling management’s actions a ploy, he pointed out that the latest move by the resort is in direct contradiction to the industrial agreement.
In fact, Morely says the agreement outlines that redundancy can only come about where there is indefinite or permanent closure of a department.
“That gives them a right to lay off, rotate, make positions redundant if it warrants it,” he said.
According to the union executive, just after the employees left Friday’s meeting, there was a cadre of new hirings, including temporary and casual workers.
That, he declares is mass exploitation, adding that if management is allowed to get away with it today, there is no telling what they will do tomorrow.
Morely admits the union had been informed of management’s intent via a letter prior to its action, but that correspondence was only sent to General Secretary Leo Douglas and never forwarded to the Freeport office.
That, he says, was another sinister ploy of management, adding that before the new hotel union executives were elected, management’s practice was to carbon copy the Freeport office.
Oblivious to the resort management’s redundancy plans, he revealed that no action or response was taken by the Freeport office. The New Providence office did nothing either.
As a result, the resort implemented what it termed as necessary changes within the stewarding department.
Morely pointed out that management had bypassed the “lay-off clause” in the agreement and that a number of stewards at the resort has downscaled from 138 to some 48 today over a period.
“We had spoken to management on numerous occasions concerning the skeletal crew that they were running at Our Lucaya before they decided that they would make these positions redundant,” he stated.
Management is using any means to save the resort money while at the same time hamper the industry which employees have worked hard to get to this point.
Adding insult to injury, Morely says two more employees were victimized Tuesday when one was suspended and the other reportedly fired.
But according to the union, neither of the reported terminated or fired workers received anything in writing to that effect, only verbally.
On Friday, Morely said those supervisors were not allowed to return to their posts.
Ross Burrows, an employee of three years who also serves as a union shop steward at Our Lucaya, is claiming unfair treatment after he says he was suspended Tuesday after allegedly making derogatory statements about his immediate manager.
In fact, Burrows said he had gone to human resources to file a complaint against his manager and was upset with the way he was being treated.
Instead, he says it was revealed that he had threatened his manager and he was placed on suspension for three days.
Burrows, who works in Banquets as a set-up man, says after he and other workers refused to perform a task that was out of the scope of their job description, management has alleged gross insubordination and used victimizing tactics.
Another set up man, Daron Pedican who worked with the resort for six years ﾗ two as a casual worker and his last four on staff permanently ﾗ said he was told yesterday in so many words he was fired.
He and seven other men, who reportedly also refused to work outside of their job description, were collectively forced to sign a “Final Chance Agreement” when they reported to work following a three-day suspension in order be allowed to work.
Pedican says he signed because he felt his and the others’ job was threatened as they would not have been able to return to work if they didn’t do so collectively.
He said he was suspended last week Tuesday for not shaving and had only returned to work yesterday when he was told to report to human resources and informed of what he was to be receiving in his final paycheck.
But the two say ever since that day they refused to put up a tent, management has been trying to make them fire themselves.
The union met with the affected workers Tuesday to chart its way forward and says it intends to fight the resort vigorously and feverishly and file disputes.
The Freeport News made several attempts to reach management at Our Lucaya for comment, but our messages went unreturned.
By LEDEDRA MARCHE, Senior FN Reporter
