Eustace renews call for Resort workers to be paid

Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace has repeated his request for the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to intervene to ensure that contractors and workers who are owed by Harlequin Hotels and Resorts are paid.{{more}}

Speaking on his New Times program yesterday, Eustace, responding to a statement released on June 9 by Dave Ames, Chairman and CEO of Harlequin, said when he first called on the government to intervene, he had made no comments about the “quality of the resort”, or anything of that sort.

He said his concern was that the people of this country be paid for the goods or services that they provide to Harlequin.

Eustace said he noticed in last Friday’s newspaper (SEARCHLIGHT) that he had been invited to visit the resort. He, however, said no one had approached him directly, and “quite frankly, I am not interested in that.

“My concern is that the people who are owed, be paid,” he reiterated.

“The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines cannot take a hands-off approach to this matter,” he said, adding that the Labour Department should play its role in helping to “conciliate” in this matter.

“We cannot just let it pass under the table,” Eustace said.

Eustace said the things Harlequin has been doing in relation to local schools and cricket is good, but he was not asking for an account of Ames’ stewardship, except in relation to the payment of people who are owed.

Making the point that his party is not a “fly-by-night opposition”, having won 48 or 49 per cent of the vote in the last general elections, the Leader of the Opposition said he has a right, as a representative of the people, to ask for them to be paid, and paid promptly.

Eustace said he does not care about the fact that Ames is now a voter, as was disclosed last week.

He said other people have raised concerns about the performance of the company in other parts of the world, but “all that will come out in due course,” Eustace said.

He said his party recognized the importance of foreign investors to the economy of this country, but when they come, they should live up to their obligations and pay the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Most of all, Eustace said, he does not want a lecture from Ames on what the impact of tourism is and can be for this country, as he knows it very well, and better than does Ames.

In the statement released to Searchlight, Ames said “All employees of Harlequin at Buccament Bay Resort are paid and paid on time, every month.”

The CEO also explained that Harlequin pays its contractors at agreed stages of the construction process and they themselves are then “wholly responsible for paying their own workers and sub-contractors.

“As with any construction site, all work requires inspection and then sign off from a Quantity Surveyor. Provided the work is complete and meets the required standard, payment is then made,” Ames aid.

Ames also spoke of the impact of tourism on the economy of St Vincent and the Grenadines and the contribution of his company to tourism development here.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport and Works Julian Francis, speaking on Star Radio last Tuesday evening, encouraged persons who are owed by Harlequin to give him a call.