Chefette challenged

by CHERYL HAREWOOD

MANAGEMENT OF CHEFETTE RESTAURANTS has been challenged to offer its more than 700 staff members the chance to purchase shares in the company.

It has come from Barbados Workers' Union (BWU) general secretary Sir Roy Trotman during the official ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new Chefette restaurant in Black Rock, St Michael. Scheduled to open by August next year, it will employ 50 people.

"A company does well that becomes an integrated member of the community where it dwells, and we have to move beyond people who are employees to employee owners.

"Staff must be made stake-owners," Sir Roy said, as he praised Chefette's staff for their commitment to the restaurant chain over the years.

He also told the restaurants' owners it was time to take the Chefette brand beyond Barbados.

"It is time that the Chefette brand be seen and recognised beyond Barbados. The younger generation must see the brand sitting beside other brands and ahead of any competition," he added.

Sir Roy commended Chefette for building at this time, for being good social partners and for taking the decision to add and not to cut staff during the current recessionary period.

He also lauded Chefette's executive chairman Assad Haloute for stepping aside and allowing his son Ryan Haloute, managing director, and daughter Janine Haloute, deputy managing director, to manage Chefette's 13 restaurants.

The union boss said he was pleased to have an arrangement with Chefette which never denied workers the right to bargain collectively.

He said the labour relationship between Chefette and the BWU "has been enhanced throughout the food chain's 37 years in operation".