AN INDUSTRY IN DESPERATE NEED OF REFORM PART 1

Haydn Hughes - The Anguilla Independence Movement - AIM

During the late 1970's, a revolutionary product found its way unto Anguilla's shores. It promised a new way of life with economic prosperity
and very little negative fallouts. This new product was none other than Tourism.
Now, three decades later, Tourism continues to thrive.

As promised, it has become a vibrant industry that contributes significantly to the island's
Gross Domestic Product. It is the axis on which Anguilla's economy turns, and without it, we would undoubtedly regress to our days of seeking employment overseas and sending home the less than mediocre remittances.

"We do not want to become a nation of Waiters and Bus Boys!" Those were the
words of the late Mr. Wallace Rey, a staunch revolutionary and pro-independence thinker in the island. If he were alive today, he would be pleased to see the improved standard of living that everyone is enjoying, but he would be ashamed of what we have become in the process of attaining
that ideal - A greedy and envious nation of bus boys and waiters.

When the affluent hotel investors came to Anguilla, they assured us much
more than what we have today. Larger hotels, increased investment, further training of locals for management positions and locals assuming management positions within a maximum of five years, were just a few of the promises
that fascinated and captivated all of us, including our leaders. Looking around, it is obvious that all of those promises were but fleeting illusions that may never be realized.

The hiring of department managers here on the island, for example, has, for years, been engulfed in corruption and predilection. It allows the wealthy investors to hire 'their man' while circumventing all labour and employment laws that require understudy programs to be formulated and implemented.

These laws also specify that understudies, whether Anguillian or otherwise, should assume their respective managerial position on completion of their understudy programmes. Many of these hotels always have a local understudy in the departments who remain in that position indefinitely. There are cases, where locals have been understudying expat department heads or over 10 years. When these suppressed individuals take it upon themselves to seek
upward mobility, they are quickly crushed by threats of victimization, demotion or firing.
Anguilla needs a new policy to combat these investors if local human resources are to be protected. A clear message of condemnation must be sent
to those who want to continue this practice of intimidation. To date, only one luxury hotel on the island has an Anguillian General Manager. Could it
be his localness why he is under constant scrutiny and threat of dismissal even though he has proven, time and time again, that he is beyond a doubt, the best General Manager in Anguilla, perhaps in the entire region? This
extremely proficient, yet victimized individual is Mr. Eustace Guishard, the General Manager of the prestigious Cap Juluca Hotel. The Anguillian community, especially his fellow employees and the government, need to rally
around him, as he is a luminary for young Anguillians who have made Hospitality their career choice. He is the epitome of the realization of our
true potential in the Hospitality Industry.

It is encouraging that the government is seriously considering revising the
labour code. This much needed revision has been alluded to by our governments over the past 15 years. The new Labour Commissioner should also be lauded for her dedicated efforts to bring about real change within the labour environment, particularly the hospitality industry which one local calypsonian quite rightfully labeled, "the modern day slave industry!"
A balance desperately needs to be established and maintained between local
human resources and the investor. Only when this materializes will Anguilla and all Anguillians be able to receive the maximum economic and social
developments from our Tourism product.