SUPREME Court judge Basil Reid yesterday began hearing the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union’s (BITU’s) contention that the management of the Mariners Negril Beach Club was obliged to pay additional severance pay to approximately 42 ex-workers.

The 79-room hotel, one of the earliest properties in the resort town of Negril, used to be owned by the now deceased Ken McNeil, a former parliamentarian. It was then called the Negril Beach Club.

However, he sold it almost four years ago, and now a number of businessmen including, JLP senator, Brian Wallace, have interests in it.

On completion of the transaction, the new managers severed the workers and paid them initial installments as stipulated by the Employment Termination and Redundancies Act.

However, the BITU claimed that an agreement signed between themselves and the previous management entitled the workers to much more. For example, they claimed that workers with between six and 10 years’ service were entitled to four weeks pay per annum. In an effort to get it, they took the matter to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT).

However, the IDT dismissed their claim last year, triggering yesterday’s application before Justice Reid for orders of manadamus and certiorari to quash the IDT’s decision and force the new management to accede to their demands.

Yesterday in court, lawyers representing the management of the hotel argued that the agreement on which the union was relying was not legally enforceable.

The case will continue today.