Cotton Bay Village Resort.
The Cotton Bay Village Resort located in Cas-en-Bas, Gros Islet has closed operations as of today, Saturday, Feb. 28, a source has confirmed.
The source told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) today that about 33-35 staff have been affected by this closure. Employees will not be receiving severance pay.
According to the source, employees were told by management that as of today, they will be placed to work on a shift system and the resort will not be taking in any more guests. They were not told how long the shift system would last.
However, the source said, management is looking into getting a new investor for the resort, but there is no guarantee that they will get one soon.
Workers have since expressed disappointment with this move and are pressing for the company to issue them with severance packages. Some of the employees have been with the resort, since it opened in 2006.
Employees were given a verbal notice about the closure of the resort sometime in early February. None of the employees were formally written to, but were promised a severance package, the source said.
A few of them had contacted the Labour Department, concerning the matter and were told that they should request a formal notice from management, regarding closure of the resort.
The employees are not represented by a union. They had attempted to unionize the resort, but they failed, based on strong opposition they received from management at the time.
One employee who requested anonymity alleged that the resort has not been paying staff insurances. “When we checked with NIC there is nothing there for the past year and a half, and the same for the other insurance companies,” the employee said.
Meanwhile, guests were recently informed about the closure and were asked to find a new hotel. Guests are upset that management gave them such short notice to find another hotel, the employee added.
SNO has made numerous calls since Thursday, to speak with management, but on every occasion we were told that no one is available. A notice of closure has been placed outside the resort.
The resort has seventy-five luxury villas and is is best known for its two restaurants, Piano Piano and the Beach Club.