NIS joins race to make payments before Christmas Day

The Ministry of Tourism, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and a handful of hoteliers are locked in a race against time to deliver thousands in outstanding severance payments in time for Christmas.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins told Barbados TODAY that the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa has finally agreed to pay its former employees. The Government senator has also confirmed that NIS officials are working around the clock to deliver 100 per cent of the funds owed to severed employees of the Hilton Barbados.

“We have worked with the management of the Accra Beach Hotel here in Barbados, and with the owners in Trinidad and we have every reasonable expectation that between today and tomorrow, the severance cheques as per our agreement will be issued,” Senator Cummins disclosed on Wednesday.

“For the Hilton, we can advise that the severance payments have been approved and the cheques, we expect will be out. What we were also able to negotiate with the Hilton was two weeks payment in lieu of notice and we wanted to make sure that while persons were awaiting their severance cheques, that they will at least be able to have some cash to keep them going and that those monies should have been deposited last week,” she further explained.

Barbados TODAY has also been informed that the Savannah Beach Hotel paid out severance payments to its former employees last Thursday.

The three South Coast properties made headlines in recent weeks when dozens of ex-staffers, who were laid off in March at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, mounted joint ‘wildcat’ protests that received support from the leader of the Opposition and criticism from the Prime Minister.

Dozens marched, picketed and sang songs of defiance in response to the deafening silence from their former bosses and, in some cases, blatant refusal to hand over the monies as they struggled to make ends meet.

Behind the scenes, however, tourism ministry officials have been “fighting tooth and nail” to help facilitate the payments in time for Christmas, and met with workers, hoteliers and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) to discuss the obstacles preventing them from honouring their commitments.

Shortly after, Chairman of the Sun Group, Bernie Weatherhead, which owns the Savannah Hotel, announced that the workers’ payout was on its way.

Regarding Accra, the ministry assisted the property owners with a loan, which along with money transfers from Trinidad and Tobago would facilitate payment to the workers between December 23-24.

Because the Hilton Barbados is a Government-owned entity, the NIS agreed to pay the workers’ severance in full.

“The NIS worked above and beyond the call of duty to be able to do its best to get these severance payments out to these persons,” declared Senator Cummins.

“They even called in teams that worked over the weekend to make sure that they could get these cheques ready for those persons. So we are hopeful, between today and tomorrow that people will get their cheques, but it has been a yeoman effort on the part of the ministry along with the NIS to support the Hilton.”

When contacted, former employees of Accra said they were optimistic in light of the assistance and engagement from Minister Cummins, but nervous about the continued silence from the Rockley, Christ Church establishment.

“A lot of people have been evicted, there are people who don’t have food and can’t pay their bills. So people have been acting up, but at least the tourism minister stepped in and did what she could. In some cases, she made sure that people got food, so she and her team have been a big help,” said one of the former workers who did not want to be identified.

Another noted that there was not much that could be done so close to the holidays, but it would at least be enough to make their children “comfortable”.

“I explained to one of my little ones that ‘mummy is not working and daddy can only do so much, so if we aren’t able to get you something for Christmas, please understand the situation’, and she said ‘mummy, that is okay, all I would like is a book and it’s not that expensive,’” the hotel worker recalled.

Rodney Hinds, a former Chef at Hilton said that he had not yet received severance and was not entirely clear on when it would finally be paid.

There is still uncertainty about their entitlement to payment in lieu of notice, which has not been accepted by the workers. While acknowledging that he has not been severely affected by the almost nine months without severance, many of his colleagues have found the holiday season “really challenging”.

“Everybody looks forward to doing something for themselves, their families and their friends at Christmas time, and it has been very challenging for some of my colleagues,” Hinds explained.

An official at Hilton informed Barbados TODAY that General Manager Tammy LeBlanc was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, workers at Savannah Hotel generally expressed satisfaction with the current state of their situation, but noted some minor issues regarding their payment in lieu of notice were still outstanding.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)