By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A top hotelier yesterday issued “a clarion call” for The Bahamas to eliminate legal stipulations that mandate employers must pay for their workers’ COVID-19 testing.
Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, used the Accountants Week seminars to challenge both the Government and trade unions to at least work with the private sector on reforming the Health and Safety at Work Act’s section nine.
Speaking during a panel discussion that featured Robert Farquharson, the Government’s director of labour, and Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, he said the Act was 20 years or “more than a generation old” and never contemplated the impact from a COVID-19 style pandemic on the economy and workplace.
Mr Sands also revealed that his employer, Baha Mar, has spent $2.8m to-date on COVID testing for both guests and staff. It had conducted some 280,000 tests so far, with 160,000 involving guests and 120,000 for its workforce. The costs, he added, were broken down as $1.7m for guests and $1.1m for staff tests.
“This is extremely important because across the resort campus over 90 percent of guests arriving at Baha Mar are fully vaccinated,” the BHTA chief said. “I can tell you that 65 percent of staff have one or two doses, and 58 percent of associates are fully vaccinated. That’s 58 percent of 4,000 associates.
Turning to the Health and Safety at Work Act, which was passed into law almost two decades ago, Mr Sands said: “When this Act was introduced, no one had an idea that COVID would be a pandemic that would have this dramatic impact on the community.
“And I strongly urge the parties to be to support the local business community to encourage government and the unions to look for two amendments in this particular section: Section 4 (1), which speaks to reasonable protection, which is not clearly defined in this particular Act, which needs to be assessed.
“Then, secondly, Section nine, which says that a person should not impose a charge on the interest in the safety of the well-being of a company. I think that that should be amended. I think that that particular clause should be removed, if not for 100 percent of companies, at least for companies that have persons in excess of ten to 25 (people), because that is a cost that can go toward hiring additional people and making the company more productive.”
Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, rejected the notion of amending the legislation without it coming to the National Tripartite Council for consultation. He said: “What the private sector and even the public sector are doing is they are operating within themselves.
“We have a number of unions in this country, and at no time have they sent a letter inviting the unions to be a part of a resolution to the issue at hand. We seem to be relevant when there’s a crisis and that is a major problem we have.
“If you are trying to deal with an issue, that is a very sensitive issue, that is a legal issue, would not the unions, particularly those unions who are directly impacting the tourists and the Bahamian public, shouldn’t we be invited and be a part of that process?”
Warning against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, Mr Ferguson added: “To put the needles in the arms, you are doing something completely outside of the law. You can’t impose vaccinations as a condition to employment.
“You can introduce your test and make that a condition as a policy, and even there that would have to be discussed with the working people. The law is clear, you can’t do it. You just cannot do it.”
Robert Farquharson, director of labour, added: “I, too, want to echo the sentiments of Mr Ferguson. I want to draw your attention to Section 4(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which says it is the duty of every employer to ensure so far as it is reasonably practical, the health and safety and welfare of all.”
Moving to Section five of the same Act, he said this imposes a “duty of care” on employers to ensure none of their employees are exposed to any risk to their health and safety.
Mr Farquharson added: “Section seven of the Act puts the onus on the employer to make sure their health is not compromised. Essentially, an employer should not lie or give incorrect information when it comes to health and safety when it comes to their workers and the business.”
Turning to section nine, Mr Farquharson acknowledged that when the Act was crafted it was not envisioned that there would be a global pandemic that has impacted the way people work and live.
But he stopped short on agreeing it should be amended, and reminded attendees there should be “no contravention” of it as it stands now. “The ILO convention said there must be consultation with international standards when it comes to the issues that affect workers,” Mr Farquharson said.
“The NTC (National Tripartite Council) is considered a forum for labour and industrial relations in The Bahamas. To this date the NTC has not been invited by the employer or any of the major hotels to consult with them on the issue of charging for testing.”
Comments
ohdrap4 2 years, 5 months ago
The current vaccination is no longer an exemption for testing.
But this is quite disgusting. Many people are workign short hours on minimum or just above minimum wage, so the weekly take home pay is below 210, and now the anywhere from 20-35 dollars must be borne by employee.
These hotels should be ashamed of sending people home with 150 per week.
But people are already quitting jobs who are required to pay for testing.
This man needs to be sent on the walk of shame.
Emilio26 2 years, 5 months ago
So it seems like anyone who doesn't go along with your views or narrative is either a sellout or a Uncle Tom.
Dawes 2 years, 5 months ago
Umm how do you think those hotels will pay for the test. They don't have a magic money tree. And yes of course all that money saved would not be given out in salary or bonus but some of it will
ohdrap4 2 years, 5 months ago
Sure they will pay bonus. To the managers.
JokeyJack 2 years, 5 months ago
They need to raise the room rates. Simple. Will that mean less tourists? Yes, of course. Well then remove the stupid testing requirement.
moncurcool 2 years, 5 months ago
Did the New Day government campaign on free testing? He should be calling out the government to hold to the promise.
John 2 years, 5 months ago
Someone needs to vaccinate Dr Death Fauci but prophecy must be fulfilled
rodentos 2 years, 5 months ago
he should take 666 doses
John 2 years, 5 months ago
Word on the street is that people are presenting with Covid symptoms like chest pains, dry cough and lost of taste. But the rapid Covid tests are coming back negative even as the symptoms get worse. Some end up in the hospital and and only after taking the other test do they test positive for Covid.
John 2 years, 5 months ago
If you have symptoms, insist the Dr does more testing and start you on treatment
blessedone 2 years, 5 months ago
I read that thousands of bad antigen tests were brought from India. That may be the source of some persons testing negative when they were indeed positive. We all need to be careful and protect ourselves.
sheeprunner12 2 years, 5 months ago
The unions will fight like hell NOT to give up any advantages/rights that they have. The Govt did make the promise of "free testing", but we all know that was unsustainable. So, Sands will have to pull his strings to get out of that.
M0J0 2 years, 5 months ago
TALKN A BUNCH A SHIAT
JokeyJack 2 years, 5 months ago
"...because that is a cost that can go toward hiring additional people and making the company more productive.”
Dont need a cost. Remove the stupid and useless testing requirement. Why is everyone so anxious to make big chemical companies rich and they themselves can't even pay light bill?
stillwaters 2 years, 5 months ago
Isn't it about time for the free testing promised to kick in now? Once the government keeps that promise, this issue should be resolved. What's taking so long for the free testing to start?
jus2cents 2 years, 5 months ago
The government should be doing free testing and giving people at home test kits, so they can test at their convenience.
jus2cents 2 years, 5 months ago
It is a PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE it is not right that for private entities to have to suffer the costs for something that The Bahamas Ministry of Health should be doing and is being PAID to do that job.
Just like after Hurricanes, the private sector does the governments work for them, the government takes all the credit.
We pay civil Servants for decades to do their jobs, but when it comes down to it, corporate Bahamas has to bail out our wutlass gub'ment. Pathetic.
John 2 years, 1 month ago
Sometimes you really have to wonder what people like Sandy Sands is get their gender hormones from. Notice how lopsided his argument is. That the staff pay for their tests but not the guests. Firstly, the tests are being taken to frequently for staff and this escalates the costs with no tangible benefits. Iig Covid doesn’t show up in a test until 3-5 days after a person contracts the virus the frequency of testing can be refused. Secondly it is the guess that be walking around without masks so it is on them to protect themselves. Thirdly is is the workers who usually contract the virus from the guests, so why should they have to PAY for working in a harzardous work environment ? AND if ALL guests are supposed to be vaccinated and IF the vaccines are supposedly so effective then why should workers be treated like lepers when the basically pose no risk to the guests?
BORIS JOHNSON says there will be no more mask wearing mandates, no more forced vaccinations requirement, no more mandatory isolations for persons who test positive for Covid, among other things. Many of these people will become guests at Bah Mayr and other properties in The Bahamad. Why then should employees bear the cost of being tested when the risk is not of their own making? They already following the safety protocols
John 2 years, 1 month ago
And dozens of Bahamian families who chose to stay at major hotel properties over the holidays caught Covid. Basically entire families came down with the virus and had to be quarantined. Some family members had to be hospitalized.
John 10 months, 2 weeks ago
On the one hand, the hotels are bragging about their bookings being ‘record breaking’ post Covid. So it also follows that their profits have been record breaking. So why try to pass more costs on their employees who have been the sacrificial lambs during the pandemic? And yes Covid is still around. Not only did Bahamians who stayed at major resorts get infected with Covid, entire families, but entire staff who worked at cruise ports on the Family Islands come down with Covid. Did government stop reporting Covid cases to protect the tourist industry? And what is the benefit of taking Covid vaccines if you haven’t already taken them? Doesn’t the risks outweigh the benefits? And that is part of the problem in the hotels and on cruise ships. Vaccines do not cure or prevent Covid, but suppresses the symptoms, so vaccinated people will not always test positive when they have the virus, so they walk around affecting others. And because their symptoms are suppressed, they may die from damage to organs done by the virus. So their deaths are not classified as Covid related.
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