Less than six months after he left his longtime job to go to Baha Mar for what he thought would be the start of a brighter future, Kenneth Fraser finds himself in an unsettling position, wondering if he will receive a paycheck next month. Uncertainty lingers for many other Baha Mar workers who are concerned about whether they will still be employed in August. With his job hanging in the balance, Fraser, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, said he spends most of his waking hours actively looking for a new job.

“I would be a fool not to,” he said, chuckling.

With his wife and children depending on him, Fraser said now is not the time to do nothing.

Though he received his full paycheck in the last three weeks, Fraser said he’s operating as if he has no source of income.

“I’m strictly job hunting,” he said, when asked what he does with his free time.

“I think everyone should start looking for a new job. There’s nothing else to do. It’s rough. Most people who left jobs, some of those positions have already been filled. There weren’t many jobs in the first place.”

According to the latest labor force survey that was released in January, the unemployment rate in the country stood at 15.7 percent. Fraser said he fears the unemployment rate will rise in the next several weeks, as he does not believe that he and other Baha Mar workers will be employed much longer.

Baha Mar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on June 29 and sent the majority of its 2,400 staff members home indefinitely. A day later, a U.S. judge granted the company creditor protection and access to debtor in possession (DIP) funds, which Baha Mar said was the only way it could complete the resort at Cable Beach. However, a Bahamian court has to approve those orders for them to be enforced locally.

Justice Ian Winder is set to announce a decision on Wednesday.

Last Thursday, the government of The Bahamas filed a petition for the winding up of Baha Mar on the grounds that it is owed more than $58 million by the developer. The government hopes the appointment of a provisional liquidator would help get the issues ironed out and the project completed and opened. Winder will consider the winding up petition on July 31.

Fraser said he was “shocked” when he learned that Baha Mar filed for bankruptcy protection.

“We knew that finances were not the best, but we didn’t know it was that bad,” he said. “Coming from the background that I came from, my thoughts were all of us were going to be jobless in a matter of days or weeks.”

The government agreed to fund Baha Mar’s payroll for July. It is unclear if it will do so in August.

It expects that the provisional liquidator will deal with that matter, if the court approves it.

Fraser fears that mass layoffs will not only impact the national unemployment rate, but will also impact the crime rate.

“It’s going to happen,” he said when asked if he meant that people would turn to crime.

“People are going to find ways to feed their families and get things done.”

But Fraser said he was in no way condoning turning to crime to make ends meet.

“A lot of people work paycheck to paycheck, a vast number of people,” he said.

“So I don’t know how people will make it.

“Another thing is, some of these employees hired maids and nannies or paid for other services. Those people are likely now out of a job.”

Fraser said the trickle-down impact of Baha Mar’s problems is probably greater than many people think.

Another Baha Mar employee, who also did not want to be named, told The Guardian that she is also job hunting.

“I’m hoping for the best and hope to get a call to come back but it would be silly if we didn't look for jobs because you must look for the best interests of you and your family,” she said.

The employee, who is in her 20s, said she’s just happy that she doesn’t have any children who depend on her.

“My heart goes out to people who have families,” she said.

She said she hopes the parties are able to reach an agreement outside of the courtroom to get Baha Mar completed and operational.

In a letter to staff on Saturday, Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian said he wrote to Prime Minister Perry Christie asking him to put an end to all legal wrangling in order to give the parties time to negotiate.

Izmirlian said negotiations with both Baha Mar’s lender, the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM Bank), and its major contractor, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), were ongoing and pledged that Baha Mar will not “get up from the table until we find a solution”.

“However, we ask that all the other parties concerned come to the table with a real spirit of compromise and no hidden agendas,” he said.

“I believe that if that is the case then a solution can and will be found.

“If parties are communicating in the background and planning other actions, it is impossible for all parties to find a consensual solution.”

Fraser said even if the parties do come to an agreement and he does get a call to return to work, he would be hesitant about re-entering that environment. He said he is ready to move on to something that is more stable. Fraser acknowledged though that many of his co-workers would jump at the opportunity to return to work.