Hard Times, To Lose Jobs

St. James Club Informs Labour Department

THE economic downturn in the country contains to claim more jobs despite the trade unionization of more businesses. The Employers Federation says, increasingly employed are being sent home as employers downsize and take other measures to save their businesses.

The most recent employer to take the unwelcomed path of having to send workers home is the St. James’ Club Morgan Bay Resort at Choc.

The Labour Department yesterday confirmed that in excess of 50 workers, were laid off by the hotel as a result of the economic difficulties it faces.

“The hotel did inform the Labour Department that due to economic reasons it had to lay-off a number of its staff; an unfortunate situation,” Labour Commissioner, Ray Narcisse, said.

The lay-offs come nearly a month after the Employers Federation, called on its members to participate meaningfully in a focused attempt to address the issue of unemployment in the country.

This new development at the hotel also comes as Labour Minister, Stephenson King is involved in institutionalizing a tripartite method to foster dialogue between employers and employees’ representatives in an attempt to improve the unemployment situation.

The economic situation at St. James Club is not unique.

“A number of companies are complaining about the downturn in the economy that has affected their bottom lines and in some cases their staff levels,” Narcisse said.

According to him, some of the companies under financial and other economic strain try to hold on by not sending large numbers of employees home at once but instead of sending one home occasionally.

Narcisse’s comments mirror those of the President of the Employers Federation, Vern Gill, who last month said that members, on several occasions, had called on him to manage difficult situations brought about by existing financial challenges as they had had to downsize and deal with the restructuring of their organizations to remain viable.

The dismissed workers of St. James Club, however, will not be going home empty-handed the law requires that some form of consultation take place between their trade union and the company. According to Narcisse, that was done. The company also informed the Labour Department of the issues it face.

“The list was sent to us, we verified the termination pay and any discrepancies would have been corrected by us. Its’ an unfortunate blow, especially when you look at the multiplier effect, meaning the number of persons who were depending on the salaries of the dismissed workers,” Narcisse said.