Bahamian electricians employed by a sub-contractor at the Baha Mar project claimed yesterday that they have not been paid for six weeks and called on the government to step in, warning that some unpaid workers may resort to violence. The men said they have reached their breaking point as many of them have families to take care of and can no longer afford to meet their obligations. The group of workers was sub-contracted by Yates-Osprey Construction. The workers fear that with the Baha Mar project winding down, they may never get paid.
"You have guys, over 100 or so guys, just electricians alone [who haven't been paid]," said Mervin Bethell, one of the spokespersons in the group.
"Some guys [are] sleeping in their vehicles... They have their families and their little babies and it's going on for six weeks. Everybody is getting paid except the black man, which is the labor force."
When The Nassau Guardian arrived at Baha Mar yesterday morning, the workers were speaking to Osprey officials to get some idea of when they would get their money. The official, who spoke to the workers through a cracked door, was unable to give the angry workers a timeline. Osprey officials declined to speak to The Guardian, and a spokesman at Osprey's head office said no one was in office who could address the workers' claims.
Baha Mar officials advised The Guardian to contact Osprey. The workers said they are tired of waiting.
"We should be paid," said Bethell following his conversation with the officials. "You have some guys off the streets, the murder rate is already high in this country. You don't pay 100 employees, what do you think will happen when they can't feed their family? And this is money they already worked for."
Carlos Roberts, whose birthday was yesterday, said he couldn't afford to treat himself to a soda because his finances were so low.
"Either the government or the labor union, someone has to step in this because we are Bahamians and we have our rights. We worked for our money.
"We are fathers and husbands. We need our money. We desperately need our money. (Minister of Labour) Shane Gibson, (Prime Minister) Perry Christie... come try straighten this out because we need our money before this gets to violence.
"And all of these brothers around here, we have to pay rent and all these things."
Roberts said he has a wife, one child and two grandchildren, all of whom depend on him.
"All of us need to eat. That's why people work and take care of your family," Roberts said. "But when you work and you don't get paid, that's when people resort to violence. That's why people are dying. [You all] have to stop this."
Jermaine Carey said he also has obligations. The father of three said it is not fair that he and others are being made to "suffer".
"We already worked," he said. "We need to get compensated for what we already worked for. "All of us have families. All of us have kids to feed. At the end of the day how can we go home to our family and say we didn't get paid, but yet still we're working?"
It is unclear why the workers have not been paid. The Baha Mar project has faced three delays so far. It was initially scheduled to open in December 2014, then March 2015. Days before the March opening was expected to take place, Baha Mar announced that it was delaying its opening until the first week of May. But in a letter to staff on May 1, Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian advised that the company had been unable to get a commitment from its contractor, China Construction America (CCA), on the completion date.
Since then, there have been increasing concerns over what is causing the delays. Christie said on Wednesday that it is not a money issue. He said Baha Mar and its main contractor are facing an impasse with the developer of the project unable to get word on a completion date, and the contractor failing to commit to such a date until Baha Mar makes certain payments.
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