Got TIPS or BREAKING NEWS? Please call 1-284-442-8000 direct/can also WhatsApp same number or Email ALL news to:newsvino@outlook.com;                               ads call 1-284-440-6666

'Big' job fair on VG in April for displaced Little Dix Bay workers

- Dr The Hon Hubert O'Neal advises workers to stay @ Little Dix Bay Resort until April 30 or lose severance benefits
Representative for the Ninth District Dr The Honourable Hubert O'Neal is confident that an upcoming job fair will find work for many of the 300 workers soon to be sent home from the Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort which is embarking on a year and a half of rehabilitation from May 1, 2016. Photo: Provided
Speaking with this news site, Dr O'Neal warned that for workers to receive their full benefits, they must remain on the job at Little Dix Bay until it closes and they are officially sent off on April 30, 2016. Photo: VINO/File
Speaking with this news site, Dr O'Neal warned that for workers to receive their full benefits, they must remain on the job at Little Dix Bay until it closes and they are officially sent off on April 30, 2016. Photo: VINO/File
Asked whether any of the workers has so far taken up jobs elsewhere, Honourable O'Neal said that the terms and conditions stipulate that they must finish the time at Rosewood Little Dix Bay. Photo: Provided
Asked whether any of the workers has so far taken up jobs elsewhere, Honourable O'Neal said that the terms and conditions stipulate that they must finish the time at Rosewood Little Dix Bay. Photo: Provided
VALLEY, Virgin Gorda, VI – Representative for the Ninth District Dr The Honourable Hubert O'Neal is confident that an upcoming job fair will find work for many of the 300 workers soon to be sent home from the Rosewood Little Dix Bay Hotel and Resort which is embarking on a year and a half of rehabilitation from May 1, 2016.

And he cautioned persons, especially those who have been at the resort for many years, to stay until the end of their contract period in order to qualify for severance.

Speaking with this news site, Dr O'Neal warned that for workers to receive their full benefits, they must remain on the job at Little Dix Bay until it closes and they are officially sent off on April 30, 2016.

He said the job fair to be held in Virgin Gorda will likely bring relief to many of the workers seeking to land a job after finishing up their time at Rosewood Little Dix Bay Hotel and Resort.

“There is a big job fair coming up in early April where all of the employees will be invited and jobs will be offered to them whether on Virgin Gorda or Tortola...to get them re-situated even through retraining...like doing internships and so on in other Rosewood resorts around the world,” he said.

Asked whether any of the workers has so far taken up jobs elsewhere, Honourable O'Neal said the terms and conditions stipulate that they must finish the time at Rosewood Little Dix Bay.

“Actually the arrangement is that all employees are going to receive severance but before they can receive severance they have to complete their term of employment... So if they seek employment before that they won't get their severance,” said Honourable O'Neal.

Attempts to reach out to Rosewood Little Dix Bay for a comment proved futile.

Premier to hold Rosewood Little Dix Bay Hotel & Resort accountable

Added to that, Premier Dr The Hon D. Orlando Smith, in a statement issued to the media on January 15, 2016, said the decision to close Rosewood Little Dix Bay Hotel and Resort for a year and a half from May 1, 2016 for renovation was done without consultation with Government.

Premier Smith had also said he will hold the hotel accountable for its promised deadline for re-opening and providing job opportunities during the renovation stages.

Closure devastating to NDP had election process run its course

Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Honourable Julian Fraser RA (R3) had noted that had the election process been allowed to run its normal course and had there not been snap elections, the news of the imminent closure of Rosewood Little Dix Bay, together with that of Biras Creek Resort would have spelt doom for the National Democratic Party’s (NDP) chances at holding on to Government, hinting that Government may have been aware of the impending closures at the time.

“This is a government which called a snap election by dissolving Parliament seven months before it was constitutionally due, and between the dates of the premature election of June 8, 2015, and the mature election date February 2016, we saw the closing of Biras Creek Hotel, the commissioning of the BiWater Sewage Treatment Plant, and now the closure of Rosewood Little Dix Bay Hotel and Resort. All of these matters would have been devastating news for the NDP had the election process ran its course,” Honourable Fraser had said.

6 Responses to “'Big' job fair on VG in April for displaced Little Dix Bay workers”

  • Nice one (31/03/2016, 09:32) Like (6) Dislike (1) Reply
    So, say you are a LDB employee and you get an offer for work for the next 18 months starting next week. As stated, it seems that to accept the job, you forfeit severance? Who negotiated that?
    • Lily Ann (31/03/2016, 11:00) Like (5) Dislike (1) Reply
      EXACTLYYYY ... They *bleep* you over ...and STILL using this to *bleep* you over !!!! Utter nonsense. But I believe they're doing this because if they give the workers the OK to go ahead and seek other employment while they would STILL get their Sev pay, thennnn the hotel would be a ghost town right now !!!!! Because everybody will have their cake and be eating it too ... so they put this in place to keep the workers hostage
    • Binocs (31/03/2016, 21:08) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
      No you start working after the hotel closes. You can accept s job offer to start working after may 1. Check your labor code
  • hope hill (31/03/2016, 10:26) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    hope the locals will be hired first
  • egg face (31/03/2016, 15:08) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Pure talk
  • chinese cha cha (01/04/2016, 12:50) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    what's with the chinaman who owns Rosewood though? Why is he doing this, the price of egg rolls not good enough?
    and why nothing about the foreign owner of Biras after the foreign manager canned everyone? does this all mean
    that if you are a foreigner with lots of money, and also happen to be a jerk, this is the place to be? how 'about some
    nicer rich foreigners help keep things going instead of this nonsense? you come here and do business, you have to
    be good for the community. what a far out idea....


Create a comment


Create a comment

Disclaimer: Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) welcomes your thoughts, feedback, views, bloggs and opinions. However, by posting a blogg you are agreeing to post comments or bloggs that are relevant to the topic, and that are not defamatory, liable, obscene, racist, abusive, sexist, anti-Semitic, threatening, hateful or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be excluded permanently from making contributions. Please view our declaimer above this article. We thank you in advance for complying with VINO's policy.

Follow Us On

Disclaimer: All comments posted on Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) are the sole views and opinions of the commentators and or bloggers and do not in anyway represent the views and opinions of the Board of Directors, Management and Staff of Virgin Islands News Online and its parent company.