BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - TWO beach vendors at Cockle Shell Beach are at odds with the owner of Reggae Beach Bar and Grill, claiming that they are receiving unfair treatment from him when trying to garner clients for their massage business.
Shona Samuel and Gene Daniel claimed that Gary Pereira, owner of Reggae Beach Bar and Grill, has been working towards stifling their business.
They said that the controversy sparked about two or three weeks ago following a meeting in which Pereira questioned the cost of the services.
"One day Mr. Gary Periera came to us, kept a meeting and asked how much we charge for a massage. We told him we charge US$40 for one half hour and US$80 for one hour. He asked if we did not think that is too much. That is where the issue started!
"From the time we were honest enough to tell him how much money we making that is when all of the problems started. Nobody can sell your business better than you," they explained.
The ladies claimed that Pereira ordered them to not communicate with the tourists but instead sit and wait for them to request the service.
"He had us over here just sitting down saying we must not speak to the tourists at all; we should not say anything to them. We have to sit and wait and if they want a massage they would come. But how would they know what we are doing if we do not let them know? We have to speak to the guests to let them know what we are doing. Gary had us like we are in school, sitting at the back and waiting for the guests to come to us."
Daniel said Pereira falsely claimed that he made board signs to advertise their business and that he had organised schedules for them to abide by when soliciting business from the tourists.
"The only thing he did was put up a board with our names and told us that when the tourists come for massages we must go in order, like we are in school. So if one person goes out and gets three massages and her name is number five on the board, she cannot get any out of the three massages. She would have to give those clients to whoever is number one, two and three," she said.
Samuel explained that after Pereira had ordered them off his property, he saw that they were still there interacting with the tourists.
"After he realised that we still talking to the tourists to sell our business, he told us to get off of his property. I was about to massage a lady one day and he asked me which table is mine and I showed him. He told me to take it off of his property. The lady had to come off of the table. She was so embarrassed. I took up my table and brought it down by the sea shore and massaged the lady.
"So we came off of his property and we came down by the government beach. Now we are operating here, it is still a problem to him. Every minute he brings the police down here and the police harass us," Samuel said.
Daniel said that Pereira, after noting that they had moved to the shoreline of the beach, still complained about their presence on his property.
"He is also saying that we are blocking the tourists from walking on the beach. How are we blocking the tourists? They have complete access to the beach, we are over here on the corner of the beach," Daniel said.
Samuel continued: "He told us we cannot use his bathroom and that we cannot go up to his restaurant to do business. He just have us here like slavery days. How can you take food out of four hard-working mothers’ mouths. This is our only source of income, this is what we are good at...this is what we do best."
When asked about gaining clients, the vendors said they usually wait until Pereira is not in the vicinity and they would seize the opportunity to approach the tourists and offer them their services.
They however indicated that the quantity of massages they did on a regular basis have decreased significantly since the Pereira made the changes in their routine, noting that they have been plying their trade for some 10 years.
The ladies expressed that they feel as though they are being "bossed around" by Pereira and voiced that they are not his employees, have never worked for him and should not be made to comply with his rules.
"We do not wear a shirt saying Reggae Beach, his bus does not pick us up at morning like what he does for his workers, and we are not on his payroll. If we do not get any work during the entire week, nobody gives us a salary," the ladies voiced.
The vendors claimed to have made many attempts to get the Minister of Tourism to address the situation, but they were all fruitless.
"I keep calling Tourism to speak with Minister Skerritt. He's always busy, in Cabinet or in meetings...he's never available. I am not speaking to anybody else unless I speak to Minister Ricky Skerritt, because I don't believe that he knows certain things that are going on.
"I am pleading for a meeting with Gary Pereira and Minister Richard Skerritt because this thing needs to get sorted out as soon as possible. We are making an honest dollar to feed our children, to pay our bills and we are not moving off of this beach. This is the only thing that we know and we are staying right here," the vendors said.
