Cabinet strongly condemns creation of employment agencies to “exploit hotel workers”

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Cabinet Notes: The Solicitor General was asked to render an opinion on the lawfulness of hotels creating employment agencies to act as middlemen, employing the staff who work on hotel compounds.

 

The hotels, in an attempt to avoid the build-up of equity which an employee enjoys in his/her own right, and which is measured in the severance payment, for example, which staff would normally receive as a consequence of years of service, such staff would not receive any such severance.

 

The Cabinet also discerned that there is complicity by bargaining agents who would allow dues-paying staff to be treated in this way, without those agents raising any cries of unfairness.

 

Any corruption of the drive to attain more benefits for workers, by collective bargaining, is condemned by Cabinet.

 

The Ministers of Cabinet—elected to Parliament by workers (and others) who expect them to safeguard their interests—will not disappoint those hotel workers.

 

If there is need to go to the Parliament to express a clear policy of the V.C. Bird Party, then the Cabinet has agreed that it will move Parliament to proceed to amend the Labour laws in order to ensure greater security for hotel workers, and the elimination of any third party employing hotel workers in the 70-year old industry. It will move parliament if such a policy is pursued by even one hotel group.

 

The Cabinet condemns the conspiracy among the parties—including the opposition party and union—that evidently led to this third-party agency, which the Cabinet called “sanitized exploitation”.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. A…place a tax, fee on hotels to pay for infrastructure, such as sidewalks, curbs, gutters, drainage, public roads to and from their properties.

    B…kudos, and a good response from the Ruling arm of the present government, PM Browne & crew, as they are finally speaking out against the main industry, of the Nation which has benefited tremendously from both the HUE-MAN, and natural resources of the Nation with untold benefits over, the past 70 plus years.
    Yes, they the hotel industry have its benefits and still benefits the Nation, but this new or alleged new way of employing the citizens, and others is simply placing the offspring of those who gave years of service, to build you up, now you are becoming #THIRD CLASS citizens, in a Nation which you should rightfully be in better control of. Yes, I know that we got some control, as Antiguans and Barbudans, over those past 70 plus years, but the balance is swaying, and again if this move by the Hotel Industry does not send, a signal that says, “phuck party, live 🇦🇬268🇦🇬 Nation.”

    ABLP might have caught this, but let’s address the entire Industry, from Nationals abroad to the Ras selling bottled sorrel drink! Especially this YIDA – YADDAH! YADDAH-YIDA! Exploitation thing, they say Barbuda, PLH…DiNero is gunning still gunning! Just throw everything into the #Pepperpot, and wash it down with some sorrel…

    RASpect…

  2. In the hotel industry there have been alot of politics for too long. Tourism is the main industry but still alot of workers don’t get a proper salary,but owners gets all kind of incentives. The all inclusive hotels dont maximise profits

  3. Tourism is not an industry.

    The current form of tourism makes a country and its people poorer.

    Time has long past in setting up an escrow account for all the nation’s businesses to deposit the accumulated employee’s equity monthly. The interest from the account can be used as a revolving fund for start up business.

  4. Where is the proof UPP supports these employment agencies?
    The Labour government will soon blame the UPP for being hard bound.

      • Look a trouble even if Jacqui is the managing director of an employment agency (which I doubt), is Jacqui the UPP? Why doesn’t the government after being in power for 6 years stop blaming everything on the past UPP administration. It is rather sickening and ample evidence that the present government is failing miserably.

        • Chicken Little is the sky still falling at your end.
          We are in the middle of a pandemic and a world economic crisis and up to now we have been able to manage without the help of the IMF.
          You know what the UPP did the minute they run into hard-times.
          Straight into the arms of the IMF, who gave them over 300 million dollars budgetarry support. Not for capital spending or any roads. Simply to pay salaries and as was in the plan a second trench was in the making to retrench public servants. The lady Gayle from St. Lucia had that all worked out already, only to meet total resistance from this government. They had a nice word for it. Public Sector Transformation. Cost $10million
          And all those monies were paid back by this government and before time.

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