PHILIPSBURG--The breakthrough for which Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams says she was hoping in the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina (formerly Pelican Resort) saga did not materialise over the weekend and the resort closed yesterday, Sunday.
There was no official statement from the new owner of one of the island's leading timeshare properties, but a chain across the driveway of the entrance to the closed resort told the grim story that has left close to 200 workers pondering their fate and hundreds of timeshare investors agonising about their investments.
Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL), which represents the Pelican workers, confirmed Sunday that it had not succeeded in its bid to avert the resort's closure.
In a press release last night, the government's Department of Communication DCOMM reported Wescot-Williams as saying that while the breakthrough for which she had hoped had not materialised over the weekend, the door on reaching an agreement had not been closed and she believed a possible breakthrough remained under review by the parties.
"At this time I will not go into details, as parties involved have agreed to refrain from such. I remain hopeful that this breakthrough can still come within the next 24 to 48 hours," Wescot-Williams was quoted as saying. "If such is the case, my focus will turn on the steps which will have to be taken by all parties to effectuate the reopening of the Pelican Resort as soon as possible.
"If the prospects of reaching an agreement fade in the next 24-48 hours, government ? while respecting parties' views with respect to the initial court verdict ? will at the same time explore any and all avenues open to government to expedite a solution.
"These solutions will respect the rule of law, but will put the general interest of our island's image and its work force at the fore."
Meanwhile, WIFOL's attorney Maarten le Poole of HBN Law said WIFOL had been hoping to avert the closure with a direct meeting with Simpson Bay Resort Management Company (SBRMC) on Friday, but that had not happened.
"Since there was no direct meeting this has not been accomplished and now we have to see what will happen next week [this week, ed.]," Le Poole said on Sunday. "The closure of the resort takes a bit of the leverage out of it, because this is what WIFOL wanted to avoid."
WIFOL President Theophilus Thompson told The Daily Herald on Sunday that the meeting on Friday with special government mediator Raphael Boasman had been "the same old story." He said "nothing substantial" had come out of the meeting.
"There was nothing of importance to talk about," he said, adding that Boasman had to get back to the union, but up to the time this newspaper spoke with him Sunday afternoon, Boasman had not re-established contact.
Le Poole said he did not understand where the timeshare owners were in terms of "enforcing their rights."
"It is not only WIFOL's responsibility to keep the resort open and government can't prevent closure on its own. I don't understand. Where are the timeshare owners and why didn't they go to court to prevent closure?" he asked. "They have to get their priorities straight. At least this is what I understand.
"It's unfortunate that last week we couldn't get around the table to prevent the closure, but maybe next week [this week] there's an opening to speak, but I'm not hopeful if it closes today [Sunday]."
HBN attorney Wim van Zambeek said over the weekend that the timeshare owners should take the company to court and the company's licence should be revoked if the resort were closed.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/13937-no-breakthrough-so-pelican-closes.html
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