Business

General Secretary Toni Moore warns hoteliers

The Barbados Workers’ Union is warning hoteliers to treat their employees fairly or risk negative consequences.

During the opening session of the BWU’s 82nd Annual Delegates Conference on Saturday at Solidarity House, General Secretary Toni Moore stated that while there were a number of unfair practices raising their heads across multiple sectors, the tourism industry has repeatedly come into sharp focus, given the level of unfair treatment imposed onto employees.
“When COVID was upon us in a very real way, the hoteliers reached out to the unions, they reached out to the government for concessions, for a little ease. Guess what? It was given. Is it fair to workers in the sector, is it fair to many of those workers who are your family members, your neighbours, your friends, for an industry to be boasting that it is picking up, or to be seeing positive change, but the workers in many respects, are not even seeing progress, or seeing themselves worse off?
“We cannot be in an environment where we want to be reporting changes to GDP and numbers of visitors in the positives, and the workers’ experience being negative,” she said.
She also added: “The hotels represent what for many of us [in] this country, what sugar was in years gone by. It’s the backbone of this country. If the Barbados Workers’ Union cannot help the workers in the industry to get it right for themselves, I don’t know how much hope the rest of us should hold out that we can make a difference.”

Business

Five years of growth for Kooyman

Kooyman celebrates five years of successful operations in Barbados this week, and CEO Juri Kooyman says the local market is continuing to live up to its growth potential.

The CEO, who will be in Barbados to mark the occasion with staff and customers, notes that since opening its Megastore at Kendal Hill, Christ Church, in 2020, Kooyman has not only provided top-quality products and expert advice but has also played a pivotal role in strengthening the sector.

“Kooyman’s presence has elevated service standards, fostered healthy competition, created jobs and driven overall growth while supporting contractors, homeowners, and DIY enthusiasts. As the only store with a drive-through, we’ve introduced a new retail concept that enhances convenience for our customers. We’re also extremely proud that we have been able to invest in the Barbadian community through our philanthropic efforts.”

Kooyman adds that the store recently achieved the five-year milestone of having 100 per cent Barbadian staff at the Kendal Hill Megastore starting January 1^st, 2025.

“We are especially pleased that, as of January 1^st this year, our entire team at the Kendal Hill Megastore is made up of talented Barbadians. When we opened here, we committed to having 100 per cent Barbadian staff in five years, and we are proud to have achieved this goal. We further extend our thanks to our customers, partners, and staff for their support in helping us to achieve this milestone.

Marketing Officer Charlene Mullin says week-long celebrations begin today with a treasure hunt and will continue throughout the week leading up to an island-wide motorcade on Friday, February 21st and a grand in-store celebration on the official anniversary date of Saturday, February 22nd.

“Everyone is encouraged tofollow our social pages for clues to win in our treasure hunt from Monday 17th to Thursday 20^th. Meet and greet us on the road on Friday, and don’t miss the grand finale at the Megastore on Anniversary Day, Saturday, February 22, for store-wide discounts and festivities. This celebration is our way of saying thank you and giving back to the people who have contributed to our success in Barbados.” (PR)

Business

CIBC Caribbean completes asset sale in St. Maarten to Orco Bank N.V.

CIBC Caribbean (operating as CIBC FirstCaribbean in the Dutch Caribbean) has announced the successful transfer of its assets in St. Maarten to Orco Bank N.V. on Friday February 7, 2025.

Both sides have reported a smooth transition with former CIBC FirstCaribbean clients now conducting transactions seamlessly at Orco Bank N.V. locations.

This brings to an end the bank’s divestment programme announced by Chief Executive Officer Mark St. Hill, back in October 2021.

It saw the bank in the ensuing years, reduce its regional footprint selling its assets in Aruba, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“Our country divestment programme is now over,” said St. Hill as he praised the bank’s divestment project team led by executive sponsor Mark McIntyre, the retiring managing director of the Cayman Operating Company.

“I want to thank the entire CIBC Caribbean team and our colleagues at the buyer banks who worked diligently over the years to ensure each asset sale was executed as seamlessly as possible. These were some very complex transactions, and it is a credit to their expertise and professionalism that we were able to complete all of them within the timeframe that we set out and with relative ease,” St. Hill said.

“As Executive sponsor of our divestment programme, I could not be more proud of the job we executed so successfully. I thank the team for their commitment and dedication along the way,” McIntyre said.

“Central to the success of the divestments was our preparation and teamwork. We also importantly, chose the right partners in our buyer banks and so benefitted from an outstanding collaborative effort with every transaction,” McIntyre added.

St. Hill said the bank has enhanced the client experience and made other structural adjustments, centralized key functions, launched an Agile way of working, centralized its digital sales through the LoanStore, and revamped its Call Centers into Contact Centers.

He added the slimmed down, modern relationship bank, will continue to deliver next-generation, digitized consumer financial solutions to help make its clients ambitions a reality. (PR)

Business

Three Entities To Be Amalgamated On April 1

Come April 1, the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL), Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL), and National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) will be amalgamated.

This disclosure came today from Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, as she delivered the keynote address at the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Third Green and Renewable Energy Expo, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Senator Cummins told her audience: “They are finally under way to completing the amalgamation. We have completed all of the development work that was needed. But what I’m talking about…is not just the administrative or the financial process of amalgamating these companies, but…a holding company that will hold these three companies now.

“We will also have a number of spin offs and special purpose vehicles created, which will allow for investors and businesspeople…to partner with these dedicated companies and to go into specific investments that are able to bring results to Barbados and…to create investment and business opportunities, and with them jobs.”

The Minister proffered the view that the market should be in a position to determine what the dedicated companies would be.

At the end of her address, Senator Cummins told the media that the merger “is in the “final stages of being completed”. She stressed that there would be no job losses as she pointed out that there were none with the recent creation of Business Barbados.

“There were no job losses there…. Officers had the option of staying either with central government or coming over into the company. That process has gone smoothly, and we expect it to be no different with the entities that are being amalgamated under NPC, BNOCL, and the BNTCL,” she stressed. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins; Founder & Chairman of Williams Industries Inc., The Most Honourable Ralph ‘Bizzy ‘Williams; and Jabari Alleyne of Treeternal Barbados, in discussion at the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Third Green and Renewable Energy Expo, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre