Unions seek 'priority creditor' status for worker severance pay
Trade unions yesterday urged that the Employment Act be changed to treat workers and their severance pay as leading, secured creditors when their employer goes into liquidation/bankruptcy, thus preventing a repeat of the “absolutely catastrophic and devastating” City Markets situation.
Information the way to compete abroad
In 1991 I wrote my first book. It was a book on jujitsu, which is a martial art. Since the first month it was published, someone, somewhere, has bought at least one copy of one of my jujitsu books every month. At last count it has been sold in 30 countries. Last month, someone from Singapore bought a book. While these sales have certainly not happened in quantities to make me rich, it has afforded me some margin of international fame and enabled me to travel all expenses paid to a number of countries I might otherwise not have gone to.
Educators boost tourism industry
More than 60 teachers have spent a week volunteering their time to learn about over 1,000 different types of careers in the tourism industry via an initiative between the Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA), the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Tourism.
Retailers 'letting money walk out of the store' via language barrier
Bahamian retailers are losing sales by not having adequate language skills in their business, a Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) executive saying yesterday that “they are literally letting money walk out of the store”.
GBPC: Less than 3% of bills estimated
Grand Bahama Power Company yesterday said it had changed its method for estimating customers’ electricity bills, adding that these only accounted for 3 per cent of total monthly billings.
Employers face no 'financial situation' from act reforms
A trade union leader believes employers are “overreacting” to proposed Employment Act reforms, telling Tribune Business the changes would not create “a financial situation” and instead be “cheaper” for Bahamian companies in the long-term.
Rivals to Absorb closed shipper's 15% market share
Some 13 Bahamian jobs will be lost through a shipping line’s closure, although the Nassau Container Port’s chief executive yesterday said its 15 per cent market share would be absorbed by other carriers.
Bank targeting 50% fee income by 2017
A BISX-listed bank yesterday said fee income would account for 50 per cent of its revenues by 2017, after opting to “bite the bullet” on loan loss provisioning and incur a $389,000 third quarter net loss.
Six week closure to ease 'tremendous Wyndham Pressure'
Baha Mar yesterday said its six-week temporary closure of the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino at the tourism cycle’s “lowest point”, a move impacting around 1,000 employees, will alleviate the “tremendous pressure” caused by underperforming business levels and nearby construction.
Brokers urge customs: 'Come up to speed'
Brokers said yesterday that upgrading Customs procedures to an automated system would add greater efficiency to the way they do business, one telling Tribune Business that there were many things the revenue collector had to “come up to speed” on.
Government urged to intervene over GB electricity costs
A Freeport- based attorney said yesterday that “deficiencies” in Grand Bahama Power Company’s (GBPC) metering and billing practices were “not surprising”, and called on the Government to get involved in the matter.
Customs inefficiency costing Gov't $66m
The Government is losing $66 million in revenues annually due to inefficiencies at Bahamas Customs alone, the situation also placing tourism industry profitability and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows “at risk”.
Insurer to scale Summit through head office deal
Summit Insurance, the Bahamian general insurance underwriter, has confirmed to Tribune Business that it has purchased the former CLICO (Bahamas) branch building on Sears Hill as the site for its new head office.
15 per cent reduction in duty collection costs eyed by 2017
A 15 per cent reduction in the Government’s import duty collection costs is being targeted over the next five years, along with increasing the proportion of taxes/duties paid electronically from zero to 80 per cent.
GB Power: ‘16 deficiencies’ in its metering and billing
A well-known Freeport food retailer is now challenging its more than $40,000 monthly electricity bill in the Supreme Court, a move that comes after a report uncovered “16 deficiencies” in Grand Bahama Power Company’s metering and billing practices.
