The third day of Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa job fair at Christ the King Anglican church in Ridgeland Park saw increased numbers as the fair opened up to all members of the public. (Photo: File)
Days after Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort announced that over 600 employees would be made redundant, more than 900 people came out to a four-day job fair aimed at filling the 600 job posts.
The resort is expected to reopen with the same number of Bahamian employees it had before it closed.
Director of Corporate Services at Sandals Resorts International Jeremy Jones said, "We were very pleased with the turnout.
"We did see that there were more applicants the last two days than the first two, which were reserved for former team members."
According to Sandals, the first two days of the job fair were reserved exclusively for former employees and Wednesday and Thursday were open to new applicants.
But, notice of the job fair coupled with the redundancies sparked controversy among union leaders, adding to the public squabble.
On Friday, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Trade Union Congress (CBTUC) and the National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB) had a meeting with Prime Minister Perry Christie over the 600 redundancies.
CBTUC Leader Obie Ferguson and NCTUB Leader John Pinder referred to the job fair as unacceptable.
According to an engineering report received by Sandals, the resort needed to undergo repairs, which led to Sandals closing the resort temporarily until October.
The upgrades total an estimated cost of $4 million and are to be completed within 14 weeks.
Previously, Jones said the resort decided not to consult with the employees about their employment status with regard to the resort's temporary closure for repairs "because of the urgency of the situation", and he defended the decision not to lay staff off, but to make them redundant.
President of the Bahamian Contractors' Association (BCA) Leonard Sands, speaking on whether the company's decision to close the resort was a good judgment call or not, said the resort's officials made the best choice based on the available options.
"Sometimes you are in such a difficult predicament, you don't get to make good choices, and you have to make the best of the choices you have," said Sands.
Sandals hired several local Bahamian contractors to complete repairs and upgrades.
"Earlier this month, in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement, Sandals Resorts advised said it had no choice but to terminate all existing staff members, pay them off fully and start all over again."
"Of the 592 who were terminated and invited to apply, all but seven have collected checks ranging from nearly $1,000 to more than $34,000 depending on length and level of service," according to a press statement.
Jones added: "You cannot have a hotel guest who has been dreaming of his or her vacation for months, maybe longer, and arrive to discover that there is full-on construction being conducted. No guests would appreciate a backhoe, an excavator and jackhammers at work while they are trying to enjoy their hard earned vacation. This is not the experience that we advertise to our guest nor are we willing to compromise on our promise."
Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter
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