Furloughed Atlantis workers remain uncertain over future despite reopening push

Furloughed Atlantis workers remain uncertain over future despite reopening push
Atlantis Paradise Island.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A former hotel union presidential candidate and furloughed employee of Atlantis says there remains “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding the fate of the resort’s employees, despite revelations that it intends to reopen before year’s end.

Dave Beckford, a 25-year employee in the Paradise Island mega resort’s landscaping department, noted the resort will likely open in phases.

He has been among those calling for redundancies.

“Atlantis is opening up and that’s all well and good but Atlantis is a huge resort,” Beckford said.

“I always believed they would reopen in phases. They will only call back a certain amount of workers initially. Are the others simply going to remain furloughed? Is the government going to extend the emergency powers orders? There is still a lot of uncertainty.”

Beckford added: “There are some persons who don’t want to be made redundant. There are others who have put in 20-30 years and feel as if it may be time to just move on. That was the case even prior to COVID-19. There is still a big question as to what will happen to those who are not called back.”

It was revealed last week that Atlantis reopens sometime before the end of the year, the resort will operate under a new environment-controlled regime, known as the “Atlantis bubble”.

According to internal minutes from a meeting, Atlantis President Audrey Oswell reportedly confirmed there was not an announcement of the exact opening date of the resort.

“Reopening does not get us to the end of this, but it’s a start to getting back up and running,” according to the minutes from the meeting, quoting Oswell.

“We will open in phases with limited portions of the entire resort to reopen in Phase 1.

“As business demands grow, we will open more and more of the resort offerings and bring employees back to work”

It continued: “We are working closely with the government and we have the same goal to open Atlantis as quickly as possible. We understand how important we are to the country and want to open fiscally responsibly and safe (sic).”

According to the minutes, Atlantis will work with airport, government, and health officials to roll out its vacation in place concept for the property.

It was pointed out during the meeting that travelers must obtain a negative RT PCR COVID-19 test within five days of arrival, and upon arrival will be required to take a rapid test at the airport before being allowed to “come to the Atlantis bubble”.

According to the minutes, guests will be required to take a second test on the fifth day and ninth day of their vacation stay in The Bahamas if their time in the country permits.

Guests are expected to absorb the cost of rapid antigen testing during their stay.

The meeting also touched on redundancy concerns, according to the minutes.

“We are within the confines of the government emergency order,” read the minutes.

“We will reopen as quickly as…possible and won’t declare any employee redundant until we know the business demands.

“We would prefer to be in a position to bring employees back to work than hiring new people and process the training and onboarding.”

1 comments

“We would prefer to be in a position to bring employees back to work than hiring new people and process the training and onboarding.”
IF THATS HOW THE COMPANY FEELS, TJEN THEY SHOULD HAVE SHOWN THE STAFF THAT THEY ARE IMPORTANT…..BECAUSE THEY ARE!!! YAAL COULD HAVE GIVEN HALF OF THE SEVERANCE PAYMENT TO ALLOW THE ONES WHO WANNA STAY WITH THE COMPANY THE MEANS TO GET THEIR BILLS N FINANCIAL STANDING UNDER CONTROL. THE ONES WHO WANNA LEAVE….FULLY PAY THEM OUT. THE REAL CRIME IS THAT YAAL DIDNT GIVE IS THE OPTION!!!

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