Over 500 severed Jolly Beach workers are in line to start receiving their severance cheques by Friday 7th October, 2022, just in time for the start of the peak tourism season.
“We signed today with the Barrett Group to immediately start work on the Jolly Beach property. The aim of course is to get at least 100 rooms up by the end of December,” Charles Fernandez, Tourism Minister told Observer.
The former resort staff, at least two of which have died while waiting for their monies, are owed more than US$2.6 million in outstanding pay and severance.
Apple Vacations was the latest company to show interest in the resort, signing an agreement to manage the property in July. It is not yet known what will happen to that agreement, but Observer was informed that hotel operator, Rob Barrett, gave a commitment to start renovations immediately.
The minister who described the businessman as “a very hard negotiator,” had initially agreed to invest US$10 million into repairs at the end of May, before abruptly pulling out of negotiations a few weeks later.
“It was just a matter of coming to consensus, in Barrett’s case, he was coming out with a deal that he felt that would have been to his liking, [but] at the same time he has said over and over he really would be doing what he can, not just for the profit but for the tourism product,” said Charles, who added that the Cabinet also wanted to ensure that the facility was of a particular standard.
This time, Barrett will invest US$6 million which he will lend to the government to renovate 100 rooms at the resort and pay severance to workers who remained unpaid since the resort closed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The intention is to have the 100 rooms ready by December 2022 – a monumental task given the short period of time to achieve it.
“He’s saying even if we don’t have the money at hand, he will start with his own financing, and of course as a loaner we’ll pay it back,” the minister said.
The government, he noted, is looking at a timeline of two weeks to begin to repay the businessman whatever he spends before it has acquired the funds.