After months of negotiations the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Union and the government have finally reached a decision on Voluntary Separation Packages for 91 managers of the Grand Lucayan Resort.
The package totaled $4.3 million. According to Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar, $3.7 million of that will come from the government and the remainder from an annuity fund that the workers could access at their leisure.
“Moving forward the employees would be able to take advantage of the amounts that are about to be dispersed to them and as I say prepare for the future which is very bright.
“As you are all aware, we feel that there are significant jobs on the horizon in Grand Bahama. Obviousl, we have the Carnival deal that’s in the final stages of being agreed upon, which will lead to hopefully 1000 jobs,” the Tourism Minister said.
On hand for Monday’s signing, Bahamas Hotel Managerial Union President Obie Ferguson who said throughout the process, the government maintained employees wages and benefits as far back as October and that, he said, showed good faith.
“That was something that we relied on and where we had one or two members who had an interest in trying to resolve it at $2.7 million. We indicated that the government in this case through the Minister, would have been very understanding.
“To this day, as we speak, those members are still being paid their salaries and their benefits. So for that, I want to thank the Minister for that exercise,” he said.
However, the union chief suggested that moving forward, VSEP packages be incorporated in collective agreements to avoid at times tense negotiations.
“The Tourism industry is the kind of industry that you want to have peace, you want to have stability; you want to have a certain amount of security and productivity for our number one industry.
“I believe that our relationship is critical as we move forward,” the Union President said.
According to Minister D’Aguilar, workers could receive the first payment by the middle of the month.
