By Elesha George
More than 500 former workers of Jolly Beach Resort who had been laid off without severance pay in March 2020, are scheduled to receive their monies beginning sometime next week.
The new timeline gives the government enough time to deal with “administrative” changes, after handing over the operations of the resort to the Elite Group.
On Wednesday, Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez indicated that the payout of severance could start as early as today, but according to Cabinet spokesman, Minister Melford Nicholas, the government will complete the purchase of the Jolly Beach Resort today after which severance will be paid in full to each severed worker beginning next week.
Although he could not yet provide the total amount that is to go towards paying the former employees, he said the payments will be handled by the chambers of attorney Kenny Kentish who represented the interests of the former Jolly Beach Resort’s owner prior to the sale.
Since being terminated from the hotel, at least two people have died without receiving their monies and their families/successors will be able to claim on their behalf once they make the “necessary legal arrangements”.
Hotelier, Rob Barrett is reportedly investing US $6 million which he will lend to the government to renovate rooms at the resort and make those severance payments. The intention is to have 100 rooms ready ahead of the winter tourist season in December 2022.
In exchange, the Elite Group which Barrett controls will manage Jolly Beach Resort for up to five years, market the hotel as well as share the profits with the government.
Meanwhile, the resort is anticipated to re-open at the beginning of 2023, but whether former employees will receive first preference in hiring will be left to the owner of the Elite Group.
“That is an option that is going to be exercised by the new operator, the Elite Group, and the government is not in a position to comment as to whether or not any of the workers are entitled to be rehired,” Nicholas explained.
The minister said a number of statutory bodies including Social Security, Medical Benefits and Education Levy, which are also owed contributions, were considered during the negotiations and the government will settle those debts separately.
“The government in effect would have taken on the debt that is owed to these statutory bodies and would have used that position to leverage the eventual cost of the purchase for Jolly Beach,” Nicholas stated.
The Elite Group is said to be one of “a number of options that had been explored” to operate the Jolly Beach Resort and ultimately won the bid to manage the facility. The government plans to eventually secure ownership of the hotel and its property which is said to be worth US $30 million.