‘You aren’t playing fair’
Developers of the multimillion-dollar Palmyra Resort and Spa are accusing the NWU, the BITU and the over 130 unionised Jamaican construction workers who went on strike last weekof repudiating some stipulations of the 44-point agreement they have with the development’s building contractors.
The developers say last week’s action by the workers was the seventh “illegal work stoppage” since an agreement was reached between the parties two weeks ago.
In a recent statement, the management of Palmyra Resort charged that both unions demonstrated an “absolute lack of good faith” on the issue.
President of the Palmyra development, Dennis Constanzo, described the action of the unions and the unionised workers as “one of intimidation and victimisation” .
“The series of illegal strikes, intimidation of the on-site contractor, refusal to wear internationally certified safety gear supplied by the contractor, and false charges by the unionised workers against a non-unionised Jamaican supervisor were gross and serious acts of sabotage against the development,” Constanzo noted in a release.
He explained that most of the workers were no longer required to work overtime on weekends because the project was at an advanced stage of completion and the original work complement was no longer required.
On the other hand, last week the unionised workers blamed their Jamaican supervisor for their work schedule slowdown and called for him to be fired, a move which Constanzo opposes.
“I will always protect any worker on the site, whether they be unionised or not,” Constanzo points out, “All workers should feel this way, and I give them this solemn assurance!”
Palmyra expects to employ approximately 1,000 Jamaicans when the development is complete. But Constanzo gave no completion deadline.
The Palmyra Resort and Spa at Rose Hall sits on 16 acres of pristine beachfront land, and is Jamaica’s first luxury waterfront condominium resort for high-scale residential living and resort accommodation. The gated complex will comprise 11 villas, three 12-storey condos, and myriad recreation and health amenities.
