BEACON HILL--Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) will start soon the process of negotiating its first collective labour agreement (CLA) with the new owners of Caravanserai Resort.
The new owners took control of the property on Monday. Thompson said a draft of the CLA already had been prepared.
He said he had been successful in negotiating that the new management retain and hire the nine permanent employees and maintain their salaries and benefits.
He said there were many other casual and part-time workers associated with the previous owner, but he could not account for the status of these workers.
Thompson was critical of the procedures currently in place for the transfer of workers following the sale of companies. He said St. Maarten was lagging behind in this area, as there currently is not a smooth transition for workers. He believes that if a company remains open and operates after a sale and the CLA is "accepted and recognised," the conditions of that CLA should be applicable and workers should be retained under the same conditions.
Regarding the future of the timeshare property, Thompson said Caravanserai was unprofitable in its current state and many areas were currently under construction. The new management's intention, based on his discussions with them, is to turn this around.
He said the new owners planned to "put things in order" at Caravanserai and take measures to make its guests "comfortable." This includes putting a proper reservation system in place, amongst other things.
