‘New owners’ miss meeting

Former Almond workers Altovise Davis, Donna Sobers, Elean Holmes and Cynthia Brancroft receiving their severance payments. (Ricardo Leacock)

Sat, July 14, 2012 - 12:09 AM

THE MORE THAN 150 STAFFERS at Almond Beach Club are still in the dark about their immediate future after prospective new owners Elite Island Resorts failed to show for Thursday’s meeting with owners Neal & Massy.

At a Press conference following the meeting, general secretary of the Barbados Workers Union (BWU), Sir Roy Trotman, admitted that the no-show of Elite Island Resorts representatives impacted on the discussions with staff.

“The intention of the meeting was to have Almond Beach Club inform us formally of what their plans are for the future of that resort.

“They were able to give us some of that information, but we were not able to have as full a discussion as we wanted to because it is not merely enough to know that Almond Beach Club wishes to sell shares over to another company [Elite Island Resorts] without at the same time being in a position to hear from the new company what their plans are for the property and the workers,” he said.

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Posted by Winston Grecia 10 months, 1 week ago: I believe Sir Roy should be making sure that all of the workers have a guarantee of receiving their severance payment and any other moneys due.

THese present employees should by now be fully aware that any company willing to purchase Almond Beach will unlikely start off with the burden of existing contracts and that they will want to have new contracts with terms and conditions to suit their management system.

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Posted by Bim Bum 10 months, 1 week ago: Honest to God..
you really have to wonder whuh gyne on!

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Posted by Frank Husbands 10 months, 1 week ago: Macau is what we should be patterning Barbados Tourism off of.Sooner or later we going have to release Casino gambling or watch our tourism shrivel up.

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Posted by Pan Wallie 10 months, 1 week ago: Not surprised, because everybody see Bajans as stupid, including some Bajans. You tell them they will all be re-employed under a new ownership and that they years of service and conditions will be continuous. Then they simply fail to appear at a meeting, and worst yet, no word? How sordid! I can't help but wonder if these new owners are fronting for some Bajan!

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Posted by Kenneth King 10 months, 1 week ago: I simply just call this an insult and have started already on the wrong foot, we always wonder why some Firms fail, well it's the lack of respect for workers and then a no show. I am not saying after severance they have to do anything because they kept their part of the bargain but why make a promise to re-hire some of the staff and not one representative to make a statement.

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Posted by Kenneth King 10 months, 1 week ago: @ Frank, we do not need that kind of business in Barbados, Tourism is and will remain one of our marketing products to promote our country. Let that be for those countries who invite crime into their living-rooms but we do not want to harvest this kind of business. My only concern in the industry are our Architects not building with a more Caribbean status, by that I mean we are looking like any other international place instead of being unique and creative from style to lower our Tourist. I hope someday we can build something that is our own creation, all those old buildings that were mysteriously burned which have been a part of our history are almost gone and that is what tourist love to see and take pictures of. If you Travel to many country's you will see their old historic buildings intact but here we destroy them and replace all with poor looking constructions in my opinion. The remaining few we had in Roebuck street are also becoming a thing of the past instead of restoring, sad but true.