CHARLESTOWN, Nevis - A cross section of Nevisians feel strongly that telling Four Seasons employees the truth may enable them to deal with their financial realities before it is too late.
A source close to the resort told SKNVibes that keeping the truth locked up would create a financial catastrophe that employees would find difficult to handle down the line.
Efforts to get the Four Seasons management and the employees to comment on the exact circumstances have not been successful.
The resort was closed following devastation by hurricane Omar last October and initial communication at the time was that it would re-open in December 2008.
Four Seasons’ Resort is the major employer on the island of Nevis. An estimated 1 000 persons are employed directly or indirectly by the resort. In his New Year message, the Premier of Nevis, the Hon. Joseph Parry, stressed on the economic challenges the resort’s closure would pose.
“The closure has affected the island in so many ways and the impact can be profound,” said Premier Parry. He indicated that the Nevis Tourism Authority has reported a loss of 65 percent in revenue since the Four Seasons temporarily closed its doors.
The Premier was scheduled to fly to New York today (Jan. 22) for a meeting with the Four Seasons Resort management team to discuss the future of the property. He will be accompanied on this trip by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Laurie Laurence.
A source, who asked not to be identified, said the plight of the resort’s employees should be looked at realistically and urgently: “The way the economy is now, there are no places that are employing. The employers are laying off people; we have the island’s major employer cutting its labour force by a large percentage. Very many people are going to be depressed for the next couple of months.”
The resort’s closure has affected more than just the employees with a number of other industries feeling the setback.
“It is not only those directly involved, but there are others who heavily depended on Four Seasons - the taxi drivers parked out there, the sub-contractors, the fishermen and the farmers who sell stuff to the hotel. The spin-off will be a major catastrophe to the economy of the island,” said a Charlestown business owner.
Nevisians interviewed believe that should lay-offs be inevitable many employees would be at their wits end as to the way forward. Concern was raised as to what would become of key assets like houses, cars, land and even their children.
An impeccable source analysed the predicament the government may find itself in should there be lay-offs.
“The government’s resource is Four Seasons. If you have employees laid off now, analysts say the employees will look to the government for severance pay, but that input from the hotel, the service charge, is not forthcoming with the closure of the resort.”
Insurance experts interviewed argue that insurance companies guarantee employees three months’ salary after closure. After that period is over, employees have to be laid off.
One concerned citizen explained: “The employees should have been told - we shall keep you and pay you for three months, after that we cannot pay you. They ought to have been laid off until the hotel re-opens. The employees were not told this.”
