By Monique Washington
The ongoing saga between with Four Season’s Resort Nevis former employees and management to obtain overdue pension plan payments could “soon” be drawing an end according to Harrison Liu, director of public relations.
On Friday,Liu assured The Observer via email that “Legal counsel for the Resort’s former owner has confirmed that the former owner is working with the pension fund custodian to put a process in place for disbursing payment to past Resort employees. They hope to complete payment distribution soon.”
“As a management company, Four Seasons generally does not own the hotels and resorts that carry our name. The Resort’s former owner is the custodian of the pension fund and is responsible for disbursement,” Liu explained.
Liu confirmed there was “lack of communication by the Resort’s former owner,” which has caused concern among some past employees about the status of their payment. Liu noted that the matter is being worked on by the current owner to have an expeditious solution.
On June 30,a five-member committee of former employees was formed with Jose Green, Victor Pemberton, Jean Caines, Orville Daniel and Michelle Hill as the president. The committee’s goal was a “speedy” resolution to on-going concerns and to “Establish some level of certainty as to when, how and by whom payment will be made from retirement pension plan contributions to past employees.” Since then, the committee has meet and spoken with the head of the Labor Department, Nevis and also had a sit down meeting with the Ed Gannon, Four Seasons Resort manager.
The Observer was informed the meeting was successful and that Gannon was asked to give his response in writing. The Observer requested a copy of the manager’s response on Wednesday but was told by a committee member that it had not yet been received.
To date, past employees have not received their checks, while in-house employees have all been paid, according to Liu. Past employees have been assured that they will “soon” be paid.
“Four Season’s Resort Nevis has contributed to the community for more than 25 years and is proud of our well-established reputation as an employer of choice,” Liu explained. “We will provide an update on the process for disbursement once we have more information to share.”
