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TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025
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Labour’s flying probe on cruise island complaints By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s labour director yesterday said he wants to “make a statement” that all workers in The Bahamas are protected by law regardless of nationality amid an investigation into a private cruise island. Howard Thompson told Tribune Business this was the first time during his leadership that the Department of Labour has “received so many complaints in bulk from expatriate employees” as he and his team prepare to fly to Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Great Stirrup
• Director confirms Great Stirrup Cay investigation • ‘First time so many complaints in bulk’ from expats • NCL ‘looking into’ claims; labour laws to protect all Cay and probe whether the allegations are accurate. He spoke out after this newspaper was sent correspondence by employees at the private cruise port, located in the Berry Islands, claiming they are being
“unfairly treated” and not paid in accordance with Bahamian labour laws. In particular, they allege that they are working 70-hour work weeks, in excess of the Employment Act’s 40-hour work week, without being
paid overtime or receiving holiday or vacation pay. Norwegian Cruise Line, when contacted by Tribune Business seeking comment, asked for more time to reply as it was “just looking into” the situation based on the nature of this newspaper’s inquiries. It indicated a response would be forthcoming by midday today, but Mr Thompson confirmed the nature of the employees’ complaints had also been communicated to him and the Department of Labour. “That’s correct. That’s accurate,” he said, when asked if Norwegian Cruise Line staff stationed on Great Stirrup Cay had contacted himself, Mr Curtis,
the assistant director and the Department over their concerns. “I can’t say too much, but somebody at the ministry is organising a flight for me and my team members to fly down there; hopefully on Wednesday [tomorrow] but, if not, on Tuesday after the holidays,” Mr Thompson told Tribune Business. “We’ve had a couple of whistleblowers and anonymous complaints... There’s somebody in management who kind of blew the whistle. “I reached out to the human resources head down there, and arrangements are being made for my team to fly down there.” Mr Thompson also
confirmed that the complaints received by Tribune Business were the same as those submitted to the Department of Labour. “Correct. It’s that they were not being paid in accordance with Bahamian labour laws, and haven’t been paid, and what they were paid was not in accordance with Bahamian labour laws,” he added. “The bulk of them are expatriate employees but we do have Bahamians who are also complaining down there. “The bulk of it is expatriates. We kind of want to make a statement that so long as you are a worker
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Mixed-use PI towers eye 104 full-time jobs Electronics merchants escape 45% hike from tariffs - for now By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Bahamians had braced for reduced purchases, inventory • But Trump’s exemption could only be temporary reprieve • Retailer ‘holding off’, suspending hiring and cutting costs By NEIL HARTNELL and ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporters BAHAMIAN electronics retailers were bracing for 45 percent price increases until Donald Trump - temporarily at least - exempted smart phones and laptops from punishing 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. Mark A Turnquest, founder of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, as well as a consultant to many companies of that size, told Tribune Business that merchant clients and members who retail electronic
goods had been preparing to “minimise their purchasing” and reduce the breadth of their inventory prior to the reprieve unveiled by the US administration late on Friday. “Discussing it over the weekend with some of my electronics friends, clients and members, we are happy the US is not imposing any tariffs on Chinese cell phones, laptops and these types of electronics. They are exempted from these 145 percent tariffs,” Mr Turnquest said. “That’s good news.
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A PARADISE Island project is planning to facilitate the creation of 104 jobs via a mixed-use development on the presently-vacant site opposite both Comfort Suites and the Atlantis employee parking lot. Versani Properties Ltd, according to the project’s environmental baseline study and management plan, is proposing to construct two five-storey towers that will feature both retail and office space on the first two floors, plus amenities such as a gym, swimming pool and restaurant, with the upper floors containing two and threebedroom condominiums. The project, which is now seeking its certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) and other related
VERSANI PROJET RENDERING approvals from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), would be located on Paradise Island Drive at a site bordered on both sides by Flamingo Road and Harbour Ridge Road. To the west sits the Atlantis staff parking, while to
Water Corp now moving to monthly customer bills By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) plans to switch billing its customers to a monthly as opposed to quarterly basis during this 2025 second quarter, it was confirmed yesterday. Montgomery Miller, its senior manager for strategic co-ordination, said the Corporation has replaced 4,000 mechanical meters with smart meters in New Providence to-date and is aiming to switch out a further 25,000 in the capital and another 10,000 on the Family Islands by the end of 2025. “The Corporation has 65,000 residential accounts that are currently served by these devices, which is a mechanical meter. Our plan is to replace each and every one of these. We’ve replaced 4,000 of them so far with the smart metering device, which you will see as we continue to roll-out,” said Mr Miller. “The objective of this plan for 2025 is to replace 25,000 of the mechanical meters in New Providence by the end of 2025, and an additional 10,000 of the same meters in the Family Islands by the end of 2025 with an overall goal at the end of 2026 to complete the project of replacing all 65,000 meters throughout the entire Bahamas.” Mr Miller explained that the move to smart meters, which will facilitate the
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the north and south are Comfort Suites and the Warwick, respectively. The study, conducted by the Bahamian environmental consultancy, Bron, did not identify the developer’s principals or the likely investment Versani Properties will be making.
However, it appears to be linked to a West Bay Street project by a developer called Vistonian Development Group, which shares the same number with Versani Properties while both their websites are virtually
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AML Foods: No jobs lost from fire-ravaged stores By FAY SIMMONS and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters A BISX-listed food retail and franchise group yesterday confirmed that no jobs will be lost as a result of the huge blaze that devastated its two East-West Highway stores. Renea Bastian, AML Foods’ vice-president of marketing and communications, said that while the group is still waiting for an official update from fire officials to determine the extent of the damage to its Solomon’s Old Trail and Cost Right stores, it plans to deploy impacted staff to its other New Providence locations and activate its business continuity plan once the all-clear is obtained. “We’re happy that we had no injuries. But we’re just waiting now, like everybody else, to see what’s going to happen, and then we will go from there,” said Ms Bastian. “I mean, the good thing about it is that we have other stores, so the plan will be to move staff to other locations so that they’re not impacted. “A company this size always has a continuity plan, a disaster relief plan. So, we just basically have to enact that and go from there. We don’t know
anything official. They have told us to stand back, which we have, so we’re just waiting for an official update.” Ms Bastian confirmed that AML Foods, and its stores are insured for fire damages and situations such as business interruption, and voiced relief that no staff members or customers were hurt during the blaze while firefighters only received minor injuries. “Yes, we have insurance, but like I said, most importantly, we’re just happy that nobody was hurt, nobody was injured. We prepare for these things. Unfortunately, these things happen, but we were prepared,” she added. “Our protocols and our policies that we have in place worked, so we’re most happy about that. You know, all of this stuff can be replaced. Nobody was injured. I know they, unfortunately, had a couple of firefighters, but those were, thank God, non-threatening injuries and they’re expected to be okay. Everybody is safe. Everybody’s accounted for. We had no injuries with our team members. That the most important thing.” The blaze, which is understood to have caused the roof to cave in
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