By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
WORKERS in the cruise ship industry have raised concerns about what they believe are unfair hiring practices on privately-owned islands.
Labour Director Robert Farquharson confirmed to The Tribune on Friday that his department had received complaints and had conducted investigations into similar claims in the past.
It has been alleged that operations on private islands are largely unregulated by the government to the detriment of Bahamian workers, who are being increasingly displaced for foreign labour to do menial jobs.
The workers requested anonymity as they claim that past complainants have been terminated or snubbed by the industry.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, dated September 6, the current state of affairs was described as a “slap in the face” to unemployed Bahamians.
Signed the Organisation Helping Bahamas (OHB), it read: “The reality is that all the cruise lines are massively increasing their infrastructure that has the potential to increase Bahamian entrepreneurship or be to the detriment of the Bahamian worker in the tourism business.
“With cruise ship business operating their own tours,” the letter continued, “it reduces the income to the Bahamian government due to no business license fees or VAT being paid.”
The Tribune also spoke with several other workers, who were not associated with the OHB, but held similar views.
One worker lamented that 75 per cent of the country’s tourists were brought in by cruise lines, but only 12 per cent of tourism dollars came from cruise ship passengers.
“They do take advantage of our system,” the worker said, “and any one that tries to speak out about it, they will pick you off. The backlash from the cruise lines is as such that if you spoke up about anything, they cancel your contracts.”
Comments
Economist 6 years, 6 months ago
A quick look at how they run their island stops will show you that the cruise lines have cut the Bahamian out. Just look at who is running the places.
DDK 6 years, 6 months ago
Another example of selling our Bahamaland to the detriment of Bahamians. Tribune, your readers would, I am sure, love to see Prime Minister Minnis's response to that letter.
TalRussell 6 years, 6 months ago
Wow!!
TalRussell 6 years, 6 months ago
by TalRussell
kkphilli4 6 years, 6 months ago
This is the reason I have said time and time again that we should do long term leases on private islands instead. We should never, ever sell our islands no matter how attractive the investment. If there is an end date to the lease, it will force them to come back to the table. They must also be made to respect the natural resources on the islands and forbid dredging, etc.
SP 6 years, 6 months ago
Successive PLP and FNM administrations cut sweet deals for themselves with cruise ship companies against the interest of the Bahamas and Bahamians as did every other country in the region! What have we gained?
CARICOM group of D-U-M-B I-D-I-O-T-S are just now beginning to recognize that big business and the cruise ship industry saw CSME as a threat. They clandestinely undermined and literally stole the Caribbean tourism industry from them and replaced regional hotel rooms with mega cruise ships, operating with huge passenger volumes. Selling Caribbean destinations at a fraction of the cost of resort hotels, eroding jobs and hotel resort developments.
These D-U-M-B CARICOM M-O-N-K-E-Y-S "leading the Caribbean diaspora" also never connected the dots, relationship, and consequences of WTO (which they had no say in creating and have no say in regulating), to the cruise ship industry! What have they gained from joining WTO?
F-O-O-L-S! How the hell could so many so-called "intelligent men" wholesale sign onto an agreement which they had no input in creating, have no arbitration powers and Gave AWAY SO MUCH CONTROL in exchange for getting along with new foreign slave masters?
The Bahamas and our sister Caribbean countries had better sit down together FAST and begin drafting concise regional regulations for the cruise ship industry before we are completely stripped of tourism! The region MUST address WTO and the cruise ship industry with ONE VOICE.
The cruise ship industry should firstly be regulated to a maximum amount of passengers they could bring into the region to PROTECT indigenous resort developments. Secondly, cruise ship operators should not be allowed to control destination inland excursions. Let them take their mega ships somewhere else!!!
This stupidity must stop before the Caribbean diaspora find ourselves and our countries as mere spectators, while big foreign corporations TAKE what the D-U-M-B CARICOM M-O-N-K-E-Y-S were supposed to be guarding!...... "To promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy........TOTAL FAILURE TO DATE!
proudloudandfnm 6 years, 6 months ago
Time to stop putting departure tax over Bahamian jobs now. These cruise lines come here because of our close proximity to their load ports, bu cruising here they increase their profit margin. They do us NO FAVORS, time to get them under control. When in our country you close your casinos and retail outlets. When you buy an island only Bahamians must be allowed to open a retail store. Only Bahamians must be allowed to work there. The cruise lines will still make money, we'd just get a peice of the pie. Time to put our foot down!
Economist 6 years, 6 months ago
The problem is that the cruise lines own everything. Even if Bahamians owned the retail business the cruise lines will take all the profits through the lease over the shop space (so much for rent + x% of the gross income or y% of the net profit. Either way the Bahamian loses and the cruise line wins big.
concerned799 6 years, 6 months ago
Good point. The only solution is to kick the cruise industry in its entirety out of the Bahamas. Then all tourism will be on land and in hotels. If tourists want to see the Bahamas they must play by Bahamas rules.
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