A Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) official suggested yesterday that Atlantis and Baha Mar representatives reported challenges in finding Bahamians to fill job vacancies at their resorts in a bid to get the government to sign off on additional work permits.
"I believe they are trying to make a case early, because the first thing an investor will say is, 'We can't find suitable or qualified persons, therefore we need 'x' amount of work permits,'" BCHAWU General Secretary Darren Woods said.
"To say there is a shortage in terms of skilled people - cooks, painters and stewarding personnel - is a concern for us, and I definitely doubt that is accurate because we would have heard that cry from Atlantis as mandated by the industrial agreement."
George Markantonis, president and managing director of Atlantis, said last week that on any given day the mega resort has 300 to 400 vacancies.
Markantonis insisted, "we cannot get people for" many positions the company has advertised online. Those positions include cooks, painters, a kids facility manager, an IT service support manager, a concierge and an assistant director of marine mammals.
According to Kristen Wells, the director of the Baha Mar Academy, the up-and-coming mega resort is "hard pressed" to fill thousands of positions needed by the end of the next year when the resort is slated to open.
She said Baha Mar is faced with traditional shortages in professions like food and beverage, wait staff, restaurant managers, assistant restaurant managers, front and back of house and room supervision.
Woods said Wells' and Markantonis' comments came as a complete surprise. He said many of the 800 or so people Atlantis made redundant in 2008 are still unemployed.
Woods noted the union's industrial agreement dictates that the resort inform the union of job vacancies. The union in turn provides recommendations for suitable candidates.
Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell told Parliament that in the interest of protecting Bahamian jobs, the government plans to cease issuing work permits for maids, housekeepers and laborers with a year.
Yesterday, he called the disclosures by the two resorts "incredible", particularly as the work permit debate between the private sector and the government escalates.
"That's an incredible thing for an employer to say and so both the government and the private sector have to determine why that is, and see whether those vacancies can be filled," Mitchell responded yesterday.
"I sent a note to the vice president of human resources at...Atlantis, saying this here is a young man sitting before me.
"His qualifications are master's degree in business administration [and a] bachelor's degree in computer technology and you say you have perhaps 600 vacancies.
"Why is this young man not able to get a job at Atlantis? What's the reason?"
Mitchell insisted if there is a Bahamian available for a job, a Bahamian should get that job. He said a work permit is not going to be issued.
Woods said the union is still trying to assist the 140 former Baha Mar workers, who were laid off in February. He said Baha Mar should recognize those Bahamians are "very skilled" long-term workers.
However, in the deeds of release agreement Baha Mar stipulated that those workers are "barred from seeking or obtaining employment with [Baha Mar] during the 18 months following the effective date".
Woods said the union is still negotiating with Baha Mar to have that clause removed. He said the union does not oppose foreigners occupying jobs provided that no Bahamian can fill those jobs.
He added that the union intends to write to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Immigration requesting an investigation into Baha Mar's and Atlantis' claims.

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