The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday said it is processing outstanding severance payments owed to former Grand Lucayan employees and vendors, with the director of investments confirming monies should be released within days.

Phylicia Woods-Hanna said the payments are being processed through the Ministry of Finance as the Government works to settle amounts owed to workers and vendors following the resort’s closure and purchase by Concord Wilshire.

“They’re in process,” she said. “That is being done through the Ministry of Finance as we speak. All the employees will be settled, and the vendors as well.”

When asked whether she could provide a timeline, Mrs Woods-Hanna said: “In a matter of days. I can’t specifically say which day, but the Ministry of Finance is processing it.

“Of course, there’s a process when you’re dealing with public funds, and so they’re going through that process now, and they’re just trying to make sure that all employees are made whole.”

Her comments came as Obie Ferguson, the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA) and Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, demanded that the Government settle outstanding payments to former workers.

Mr Ferguson said the union had submitted its assessment of redundancy payments after meeting with Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, and claimed it was subsequently given a letter from Grand Lucayan chairman, Julian Russell, dated February 13, 2026, stating that payment would be made by February 27.

“That is of some concern to us,” Mr Ferguson said. He added that the union had proposed a payment schedule if the Government could not immediately pay the full amount owed to workers, but said no such schedule had been provided.

Mr Ferguson highlighted the case of Betsy Hepburn, a former Grand Lucayan manager who said she has been battling stage-four uterine cancer and remains without her severance pay after 26 years with the resort. He said Ms Hepburn was only able to travel from Grand Bahama to Nassau for the press conference after TUC affiliate, Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU), paid for her ticket.

Mr Ferguson also criticised the Government over outstanding agency shop fees owed to the union, saying those funds could have helped the union assist its members. “The union, as it stands now, we have not been paid for the agency fees,” he said. “Signed off by the Government, but has not been paid.” 

Mr Ferguson said some workers accepted amounts offered by the Government but remained owed additional sums. He also raised concerns about workers being asked to sign deeds of release, which he said would indicate that the payments accepted were full and final settlements. He said the union has been attempting to resolve the matter without litigation but warned that legal action could follow if the Government does not respond.

“We are left with no alternative,” Mr Ferguson said. “But at some stage, we’re probably going to let it run for about a week more to see whether there will be some reaction from the Government. 

“If they don’t, then I would have to go to court. I have to go to court and ask the court to declare the amount due these workers be paid and be paid with interest.” Mr Ferguson said the interest could be sought at 6.5 percent from the date the payments were due.

Ms Hepburn, meanwhile, detailed the financial difficulties she said she has faced since the resort closed. She said she was diagnosed with stage-four uterine cancer in 2017, and underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatment at the Cleveland Clinic in the US. Ms Hepburn said she took out loans from Royal Bank of Canada, the National Workers Union credit union and other sources to cover medical expenses that were not covered by insurance.

“I still owe Cleveland Clinic my bills with them. It’s now in collections, which could affect my travel to the US, everything. My light is off, my water is off, cable is off from January,” she said. “And no assistance, no severance, pay anything.”

Ms Hepburn said she had also been taken to court by Royal Bank over outstanding payments but was unable to travel to Nassau for a September 14 hearing.

She added that she has never claimed unemployment benefit during her working life, and remains unable to access them because she said former Grand Lucayan employees were not initially provided with documentation confirming their employment status.

“I was working from I was 17,” she said. “I’m 63. Never in my life have I ever claimed or put in for a claim for unemployment.  I still haven’t gotten it because we don’t have any status, and they are saying they want a letter from the hotel.”

Another former Grand Lucayan employee, Jerry Davis, said the delay in receiving severance had placed additional pressure on workers in Grand Bahama.

Mr Davis, who worked in the resort’s risk management and security department from 2015 until the Government closed the hotel in February 2026, said he is responsible for supporting his three-year-old daughter and 84-year-old mother. He also has a mortgage and said he recently approached his bank about refinancing.

“If we had gotten our severance, then it wouldn’t have been no problem with the banks and whatever other bills we had,” Mr Davis said. “But to-date, not being severed, that’s where the problem come in.

“We’re not asking them to give us a handout because we need help. Yeah, we need help, we want help. But we want to do what we have to do with the money what we worked for, and we can’t get that. And that’s the problem.”

Mr Davis also questioned what happened to a gratuity he said had been left for employees, claiming former colleagues who resigned from the resort had received the benefit while workers affected by the closure were told the Government had taken the funds.