Coco Reef closes until things improve, workers worried

Approximately 65 employees of Coco Reef Resort & Spa in Crown Point are facing the breadline after the company decided to temporarily shut down operations.

Coco Reef owner and chairman John Jefferis announced the move in a release on August 5, but did not give an exact date.

Jefferis said while “all associates have remained employed during the past 18 months, the current levels of staffing and employment cannot continue as it has during the covid19 pandemic.”

He added the uncertainty of beach closures, curfews and restricted travel had proven too much to allow continued operations.

“Staffing will be reduced to maintain security of this island jewel,” he said.

Jefferis said reopening will be planned “as travel resumes, as vaccinations increase and as new hospitality initiatives and protocols are embraced and implemented.”

He continued, “It is a new world of travel and hospitality. A well-planned tourism is required to bring back Tobago back to its pristine island-destination image. Coco Reef Resort Tobago welcomes sensitivity to all tourism facets and a multi-pronged approach to increasing airlift, reducing barriers and lifting the quality of services in our beloved Tobago.”

Jefferis said Coco Reef looks forward to reopening “at a date yet to be determined.”

Employees told Newsday the news, which was issued via a WhatsApp managers’ chat at 8.53pm on Thursday, came like a thief in the night.

“If the resort is to be closed, staff are the ones that are supposed to be informed first, but we heard nothing,” said a female worker, who has been with the company for close to 20 years.

She said staff have been working on rotation since February.

The worker claimed they were told the resort was supposed to reopen fully on August 15.

“They had us cleaning close to 50 rooms and in the night (last night) this is the information we see coming up.”She claimed senior managers have not given employees any details of the closure.

“So we are like lost sheep.”

With schools set to reopen next month, the woman said she does not know where to turn.

“I have nothing for my children.”

She also complained about the content of the release.

“The letter indicated that for the past 18 months there were workers here, but that is not true. The people they actually had here were two persons in the office, an operations manager who started this year and a few gardeners and security.”

She said she only resumed work in February, “So I don’t understand where the 18 months come into play.

“When they called us out, they had us working two days for one week or every other week. From a monthly salary of $7,000, we were taking home a little over $1,000 for the month.”Another female worker said the company should pay off their employees.

“All we are asking is for them to pay us our vacation for 2020 and pay us our severance and let us go. We cannot be home again without anything,” she said.

She said while workers are aware of what is happening in the tourism sector on the island, they should have been told about the closure.

“Is not what you do but how you do it. This is disrespectful.”

Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association vice-president Carol-Ann Birchwood-James said she was not surprised by the news of Coco Reef’s impending shutdown.

“It is a business decision and it is being taken by all of the hoteliers on the island. Nobody is really open. It is a sad thing,” she said.

Birchwood-James said most businesses cannot sustain the operational costs of staying open.

“They have no people, so they can’t pay workers, and they can’t pay electricity and other things. You have no customers, so you have no money.”

To compound matters, Birchwood-James said CAL is operating only three flights per day and ferries are carrying 50 per cent of their passenger capacity.

She added the beaches and bars remain closed.

“So you cannot go to the waterfalls. You can’t go hiking. You can’t do anything.

"So that was the obvious thing to happen.”