By Carlena Knight
It was a day of double celebrations regarding the Jolly Beach Resort yesterday as not only did the hotel officially reopen, but former workers also began to receive their long-awaited severance payments.
Observer was on the scene at both the resort and the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) on Thursday morning where the activities respectively were taking place.
Some of the former staff have also resumed work at the resort, now under new management, and workmen were seen putting the finishing touches to the complex in anticipation of the first set of guests.
A lifeguard on duty explained that he was expecting a large number of tourists to be on the beach as the winter season surges on.
Yesterday, Cabinet spokesperson Melford Nicholas expressed the government’s pleasure with the imminent settlement of what had become a testy issue.
“I am just very heartened and I can say the Cabinet too is also very heartened with the notice we saw yesterday from the union that many of these workers who have been languishing for two years after Covid struck and the hotel was closed, that in this yuletide season they would at least have some merriment and cheer to bring to their families.
“So, we are in fact delighted that the payments have begun to meet those former employees,” Nicholas said.
Parliamentary representative for St Mary’s South Samantha Marshall, via her Facebook page, also shared her delight over the reopening of the resort which had been closed for almost three years and had become dilapidated.
The merriment was at an all-time high at the ABWU’s lower Newgate Street headquarters as former housekeeping, kitchen and dining room staff lined up to collect their cheques.
Some told Observer that they had become sceptical that they would ever be compensated.
“I really didn’t know when I was going to receive it but it did happen, and I trust the Father and so I am happy that it came through.
“I was panicking when the Prime Minister said it wasn’t his responsibility for us to receive or get our severance but, you know, from his good heart whatever he did, I want to thank him for whatever he did for us to have a good Christmas,” one former worker said.
There were some who explained that the lack of funds had really put them in a bind as it placed strain on their spouses to be the sole breadwinner.
Most were grateful for the additional cash while some expressed disappointment with the amount they received.
The workers previously met with union reps where they submitted their pay slips and additional information to calculate what exactly each of them would be collecting.
The ABWU’s Deputy General Secretary Chester Hughes told Observer last week that ex-staff would receive their full severance and back-pay owed, plus interest. The only deduction, he said, would be a charge for legal fees incurred, which the union was able to negotiate down to five percent.
Overall, it was a day marked with celebration, broad smiles and even a few tears.
Elation was certainly the case for ABWU’s General Secretary, David Massiah.
“It has been a long road and I just want to more or less say congratulations to the employees for sticking with the ABWU and supporting us, because if they were not supportive we probably would not have realised this effort.
“What we have done here, what we are seeing happening here today, is the hard work, the due diligence that we have put into this process and the knowledge and understanding that workers’ rights must always trump whatever it is, and so we are at a stage where this is a victory for the workers and a victory for the ABWU who continues to demonstrate that our mantra, our position, is workers’ rights and understanding what is fair for the workers in general; that is what it is to us,” Massiah said.
The government recently entered into a partnership with Elite Island Resorts businessman Rob Barrett for the refurbishment of the resort, which had been closed since March 2020.
Barret reportedly invested US$6 million as a loan to the government to renovate rooms at the resort and make the severance payments.
Currently, approximately 100 rooms of the 464-room complex are said to have been refurbished.
