Sandals layoffs legal but raise concerns, says labour minister

There is nothing illegal about the recent layoff of more than 200 workers by Sandals Barbados, Minister of Labour Colin Jordan has declared. But he cautioned employers that such decisions should only be taken as a last resort or within reason, following consultation with the Labour Department or the employees’ bargaining body.

Jordan’s comments came in response to a request from Barbados TODAY for a response to the Sandals decision, which was first made public earlier this month by Toni Moore, general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU).

“The union’s position, as far as I know, with Sandals, have to do with the number of people. So, it comes over as an unusually large number of people,” Jordan said. “Now, it’s what the business has seen on its books and those kind of things . . . there is nothing illegal about it. But I always say that I am hopeful that businesses use layoffs or permanent termination as a last resort.”

The labour minister emphasised the importance of consultation, as mandated by the Employment Rights Act. He noted that in this case, Sandals’ consultation was with the Labour Department, as the workers are not unionised.

But Jordan stopped short of definitively stating whether Sandals’ action was a last resort. 

“There could be a distance between a reasonable position and a position that means ‘this was the absolute last resort. If I don’t do this, the business would go under or suffer’,” he explained. “I don’t know that anybody would be able to say that. Even sitting down talking and digging into things. I don’t know if you will ever be able to say that. But the chief labour officer was satisfied that the case that was put was reasonable.”

The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has sought to allay fears about job security in tourism, describing the layoffs as part of a typical seasonal pattern. Newly appointed BHTA Chairman Javon Griffith told Barbados TODAY that the redundancies reflect the annual downturn in business faced by the wider industry.

“That is pretty standard across the industry at this time of year,” Griffith explained. “Of course, for a property like that, it would seem like a lot, because they have two hotels side by side.”

Griffith noted that many hotels typically scale back operations after Crop Over, often closing for renovations during September when there is a significant decrease in business. He added that workers are usually laid off if the closure period exceeds their holiday entitlement.

The BWU’s Moore had previously emphasised that job security should align with the provisions of the Collective Agreement between the BWU and the BHTA, as established during stakeholder symposia last year. She also accused the hotel of undermining unionisation efforts, claiming that the company had directly consulted workers about the termination of their contracts without union involvement.

Griffith countered that Sandals’ General Manager Surinder Kahlon, had indicated the layoffs were unrelated to the BWU. 

“I did speak to him,” Griffith said. “He did indicate that the layoffs were under discussion with the Ministry of Labour for the last three weeks . . . it was nothing that was done in a haphazard manner; they are seasonal layoffs because things are about to go quiet, and it is nothing union-related as others would try to make you believe.”  

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb