THE NEW TODAY has seen the copy of a letter from the General Manager of Spice Island Beach Resort (SIBR), Brian Hardy which is at the centre of an impasse between the hotel and the Technical & Allied Workers Union (TAWU).
The two sides are currently before the Ministry of Labour after some employees voted for termination of their employment and for the hotel to give them Severance Payment.
SIBR has closed its door for business until later in the year in the wake of a massive downturn in the industry due to decline in international travel due to Covid-19.
According to a release put out by the hotel, it intends to use the period of its closure to engage in some facelift work.
SIBR is rejecting claims that the 130-strong workforce have been dismissed and that the agreement covering Severance should now come into play.
The Hardy letter said in part: “…There is no probability of employees not being called back to work. Therefore, respectfully, our employees have no right to claim severance.
“We invite all our employees to return to work as we continue to prepare the resort for our guests. We have indicated to the union in our last meeting that we may choose to reopen the resort earlier if there are signs that international travel improves before our set reopening date,” it added.
As a public service, THE NEW TODAY reproduce in full the Brian Hardy letter:
