With the three-day opening celebrations for the new cruise port beginning tomorrow, President of the Festival Place Tenants Association Yvette Prince - who represents the former Festival Place vendors who now have new storefronts at the newly developed Nassau Cruise Port - is complaining of cramped working conditions, inadequate setup time for opening day, and having to supply only authentic Bahamian goods.

Prince said in an extensive letter sent to the media and a host of government officials, including the prime minister, that the conditions at the marketplace built at the cruise port for former Festival Place workers are "unfair".

It appears Prince's ire was evoked by an email sent to the vendors by Nassau Cruise Port Limited's (NCP) Communications Manager Amanda Freedman, explaining the details surrounding the move of the vendors from Rawson Square to their new spaces at the port.

Guardian Business understands that by yesterday evening, the majority of those vendors had successfully moved into their new storefronts.

Freedman sent the group an email on May 18 stating that they would be allowed to move into their storefronts beginning yesterday (May 23), and that they would have to then complete the moving process by Wednesday and fully vacate their temporary booths in Rawson Square by yesterday evening.

The big caveat of the lessee/landlord relationship at the new cruise port is that all items sold should be authentically Bahamian.

Prince contends that it is impossible and possibly dangerous for vendors to be producing products at the level they need to keep their stores stocked.

She suggested that the development of only authentically Bahamian goods could lead to "arthritis in your hands, bones, joints, shoulders, and feet and can also lead to carpal tunnel syndrome".

"We pointed out the physical abuse of overworking your hands for years making products," said Prince.

"They also created a whole Authentically Bahamian Advisory Committee to be the watchdogs over us, when they should be the watchdogs over the new large stores because those spaces were advertised for authentically Bahamian souvenirs.

"When the MOU was signed, we were selling all types of souvenirs for years. We should not be forced to sign a lease with only authentically Bahamian craft work, because regardless of who is doing the work, there is a serious price to pay physically, and when you cannot get the products, you forfeit your space at the port, and we depended on our income at the port for the last 20 years, and for 99 percent of us, this is our only source of income."

When the original Festival Place was envisioned, it was designed with authentic Bahamian products in mind, which was achieved in its early days.

On a recent tour of the port, this paper was told that the vendors have the opportunity to source products from artisans all across the country to sell, and do not have to rely only on the products they produce themselves.

Prince also suggested that the spaces provided to them are too small and do not allow for enough people to engage with each vendor. She added that the vendor area should have been covered to protect it from the elements, though each individual store is essentially a covered building.

Prince also complained that the stores do not have air conditioning and only fans. Each store is fully open air with a large garage-like door, which opens during opening hours.

The port's three days of opening ceremonies begins tomorrow with a family day. The official opening, that will include local and foreign government officials, will occur on Friday.

The post Port vendors association head criticizes conditions at cruise port appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

The post Port vendors association head criticizes conditions at cruise port appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

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