Baker’s Bay granted extension of work permits for Mexicans

Baker’s Bay, on Guana Cay, Abaco, said its request was granted to extend the short-term work permits of the majority of its more than 100 Mexican workers so that the development can meet its December 2020 deadline for a soft reopening.

In July, the luxury development, which was extensively damaged during Hurricane Dorian last year, defended its decision to hire 135 workers from the Mexican national construction work team — global workforce (GWF) – citing that it was critical to complete the large-scale specialized work within the set time frame.

Those short-term work permits were set to expire on September 30.

In a written response to Guardian Business’ inquiries, Baker’s Bay company executives said the majority of those permits have been extended another six months.

“As of yesterday, 5 October, the Baker’s Bay active employee roster numbers 1,137 workers,” the company said.

“Approximately 910 (80 percent) of these workers are Bahamians, with the remaining 227 inclusive of 108 GWF workers whose stay has been extended for an additional six months — 27 of the GWF team opted to return to Mexico at the end of their three-month work tenure.”

There was public furor, particularly within the construction sector, that the government approved the work permits for foreign laborers at a time when many Bahamians and Abaco residents remain unemployed.

Baker’s Bay, which had originally requested 500 work permits, maintained that the hires were critical to rebuilding the property after Hurricane Dorian and that the same team was “the catalyst in recovery and rebuilding efforts” at its sister property in Mexico after Hurricane Odile in 2014.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis announced in Parliament in June that Baker’s Bay had committed to spending $400 million over the course of three years to rebuild the luxury development which has been known to attract celebrities and the ultra-wealthy.

“Overall, Baker’s Bay is continuing to make good progress towards its recovery and reconstruction goals,” Baker’s Bay Company Executives told Guardian Business yesterday.

“The club’s soft opening is still scheduled for December 2020 with commencement of rehiring of many former club operations employees as well as new positions being filled.

“The work of the current construction workforce is crucial to meeting the December 2020 reopening goal, and collectively represents good economic news for the Bahamian economy in the face of the COVID crisis.”

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