By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
Baha Mar yesterday said it had been forced to cease the normal 15 per cent gratuity payments at the Meliá Nassau Beach Resort, after 10 months of negotiations failed to reach an agreement with the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) on a new arrangement.
Baha Mar executives said the hotel had been forced to take unilateral action, changing the gratuity rate and method for its calculation, to keep the hotel “economically viable and preserve jobs”.
In a statement sent to Tribune Business yesterday, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, Robert Sands, said the Melia had been negotiating with the union for 10 months to try and establish a gratuity rate to be charged on the resort’s all-inclusive plan.
“As is customary in the hotel industry, globally and in the Bahamas, the gratuity rates for all inclusive guests are calculated differently, as guests pay one daily rate and do not pay per meal,” Mr Sands said.
“Unfortunately, despite good-faith efforts by the hotel, we have been unable to come to an agreement with union leadership on gratuity rates.
“With the December 1 opening of Meliá’s four signature restaurants, and a substantial increase in guests on the all-inclusive plan, the hotel can no longer continue to issue dining cheques to those guests. Because we have not been able to reach agreement with the union on the gratuity rate, we cannot calculate or pay gratuities on all-inclusive guests to employees,” Mr Sands added.
“This is a difficult decision - we do not want to cause any hardship whatsoever for our employees. We have been forced into this position to keep the hotel economically viable and preserve jobs.
“Effective immediately, we plan to put all-inclusive gratuities in a separate account. These gratuities will be paid out to employees promptly once we reach an agreement with union management. We remain ready to meet with union leadership at any time, for as long as necessary, to come to an agreement that will benefit our employees, the union and the hotel. We have asked the Ministry of Labour to conciliate this meeting on our behalf.”
Comments
ohdrap4 9 years, 4 months ago
if the gratuity is reduced to 7.5 % then you add vat, price remains the same it is called cost shifting. the employees are being robbed
Well_mudda_take_sic 9 years, 4 months ago
"Uncle Tom" Sandy Sands continues to be paid handsomely by both his white and yellow masters for his tireless efforts in oppressing his fellow black Bahamians. What can you say about a black man like Sands who is willing to allow himself to be used to kick his fellow black man where it hurts most around Christmas time...right in the pocket book?!!
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
are you really that stupid Well_mudda_take_sic? He's just the "voice" not the decision maker! Plus these unions are not worth a damn anyway...they take money to line their own pockets on the sweat of those in the union...I personally hope Baha Mar bust's the union in this country!....and by the way, what the he** you doing to lift up your "fellow black man?" besides kickin' another bahamian down the street? Shut up....
Reality_Check 9 years, 4 months ago
ChaosObserver, you sound much too much like one of those Scottish Lodge Brothers who can't help but love the doings of an Uncle Tom like Sandy Sands!
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
So everyones an "uncle tom" if they work for a white man?! Or want to advance themselves in your view? No wonder Bahamians are lost! Stuck in the "dark" ages mentally....good luck with such a narrow minded view of yourself and the nation...it's individuals like you that keep us locked in the past....
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
well i guess "ignorance is bliss" in your case....cause you apparently have no touch of current day events/or issues relevant to advancement of our society here in Bahamas.....the sooner "natural selection" takes place the better for people that have such a narrow minded world view....wake up, there is more to the world than Bahamas....
themessenger 9 years, 4 months ago
Ever notice how much better the service is when you go abroad?? No gratuities over there so those people really have to hustle for their tips and provide something Bahamians are clueless about,SERVICE!! All the mandatory 15% does is encourage slackness,a suck teet attitude and poor service.
TheMadHatter 9 years, 4 months ago
It also causes great waitresses and bartenders to lose out in many cases on GREAT tips. A lot of people feel that if the tip is included then that's what they pay. Wealthy clients in many cases would tip more than the 15%.
So it not only encourages slackness, it discourages greatness.
TheMadHatter
concernedcitizen 9 years, 4 months ago
I,ve worked as a waiter ,bar tender and i dislike the 15% ..I give good service and average more like 20 to 25 %..Too many times people will say "oh its on the bill" and you make less .. I,ve also worked in the US and there you don,t pool tips and the waiters tip out the chef/cooks busboys ,,much better ,these guys don,t even realize you make less and the mandatory 15% promotes bad service
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
Agree! Went to europe/asia last year and service was "off the scale!"....they couldn't do enough for us and they KNEW their tips depended on my happiness with their service. Not like here where some servers act like THEY ARE DOING YOU A FAVOR by actually waiting on you...and then get prissy when you make a comment about them.....good riddance!
duppyVAT 9 years, 4 months ago
Yep ........... he is an Uncle Tom par excellence............. He is working for a Jew-Chiney combo. Thats the worst combo in the world ................... I feel sorry for those poor black fools who going to work there hat in hand........... U een see nuttin yet
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
apparently duppyVAT you don't know that the owner of Baha Mar, (yes he's the owner, not the chinese) Mr. Sarkis Izmirlian, is Armenian raised in Switzerland and is Catholic.....get your facts correct you twat...
duppyVAT 9 years, 4 months ago
I agree with the correction .......... but the Chinese are the financiers, the other guy is the "face". If he doesn't have the money, how can he own it??? No money, no land ................. just a big smile HAHAHAHA...........
ObserverOfChaos 9 years, 4 months ago
You're wrong... duppyVAT...China is the Financier...period...just like us with a car loan or mortgage....Izmirlian has already put $1.5Billion of his own money in this project to build Baha Mar...much more than any Bahamian would do for sure...
CommonSense 9 years, 4 months ago
Please educate these idiots. Sarkis Izmirlian's family is actually extremely wealthy and have contributed to the project as well. duppyVAT is obviously a racist. My fellow Blacks love to kick the whites forgetting how many of them employ them. Remember - many Bahamians have the dreaded black crab syndrome - if it weren't for some of the Whites, us Blacks would be nowhere.
duppyVAT 9 years, 4 months ago
Is this the first so-called Bahamian investor to hook up with a foreign investor and the project goes belly up?????????? So, Izmirlian is a Bahamian????? If you all want to believe that go ahead ............ he is from somewhere in the Middle East ....... his family made their fortune in Africa and Europe . and now he is taking advantage of our "tax free" status to stash his money .... we will see how this unholy alliance with the Chinese will go ...... check GBPA
Stapedius 9 years, 4 months ago
Sands the consummate opportunist struggling to remain relevant.
EnoughIsEnough 9 years, 4 months ago
best news i've heard in a long time. that forced 15% makes for lazier, unmotivated staff. that is of course a generalization because there are a lot of restaurants where the staff excel at their jobs - mahogany, matisse, social house, olives - but whenever i have eaten at the hotels, atlantis is a great example, my service has been sub par. for the first year of their opening it was fantastic and then a rapid decline. what these workers don't understand is that most people would probably tip 20% if given the choice. every person i know who has visited has said that the forced gratuity leaves a bad taste in their mouth. people will work harder if they know they need to earn their money. fingers crossed Baha Mar does break the unions - cause sure enough the unions are breaking this country.
Stapedius 9 years, 4 months ago
I would agree that the unions are having too much crap going on nowadays. Idiot leaders that run them have no sense of reason.
duppyVAT 9 years, 4 months ago
Yep ........... Sir Randol Fawkes must be rolling over in his grave when he look at this generation of Union leaders .............. its shameful.... the GREED
gbgal 9 years, 4 months ago
Consider eliminating the forced gratuity. What an impressive point that would make to the guests! The workers would have to demonstrate what service looks like as they willingly and happily do their jobs. Do you think it would work in this country?
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