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70 of the Biras Creek workers 'resituated' - Dr The Hon Hubert O'Neal
Dr O'Neal said that he was confronted with two crises just after being elected to the seat vacated by Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal OBE.
He was speaking during the Fourth Sitting of the First Session of the Third House of Assembly on Monday November 2, 2015 during the period set aside for Any Other Business.
On June 16, 2015 this news site was the first to report that more than 70 workers of Biras Creek Resort in Virgin Gorda had sent home all of its employees, stating in a severance letter to employees dated June 16, 2015 that the resort would be closed until further notice.
This sudden development had been confirmed by several employees of the resort who also said they were summoned to a meeting and told of the closure, in addition to being handed their letters of severance.
The letter, according to workers who had spoken to this news site, did not state the reason for the closure but assured that the workers would be given their severance pay.
A big shock
The Ninth District Representative said news of the closure of the resort came as a big shock to Virgin Gorda.
"The first crisis came about when we heard of the sudden closure of Biras Creek Resort. Of course this came as a big shock to Virgin Gorda because it has been around for the last 30 years and it has been one of the leading resorts in the British Virgin Islands."
He said that some workers from Virgin Gorda have been working at the resort for over 20 years.
"For them to be suddenly told that their jobs had become redundant, of course that was a big blow to the community especially of North Sound."
Dr O'Neal thanked Premier Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith for stepping in and helping to manage the situation.
"We have managed so far to resituate some 70 workers of Biras Creek Resort into other resorts," he said, adding that just one or two more of them remain to be rehired.
VG water woes another test for Dr O’Neal
Shortly after, he said, he was confronted with another crisis - the water situation on Virgin Gorda as a result of the desalination plant at Handsome Bay becoming contaminated with sargassum.
"This led to the shutdown of the desalination plant and hence water shortages for all of Virgin Gorda."
He was thankful for what he described as the quick action by the Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool (R4) for bringing relief to the people of Virgin Gorda by barging water in from Tortola.
He also thanked the Government for entering into a new contract with Aqua Design, the company that manages the desalination plant, saying that this should lead to increased supply of water.
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12 Responses to “70 of the Biras Creek workers 'resituated' - Dr The Hon Hubert O'Neal ”
when did this happens? There are plenty of folks still looking
work for your information.
That Mr. ##### should be sued, and the real owner of Biras come forward and put it back in business.
There is no legitimate reason for a place like that to just close. Sleaziness is NOT next to Godliness...
BVI needs to preserve its assets - not destroy them.
- After closing Biras, that's 74 jobs less in the economy.
- After finding them new jobs, there are 72 fewer positions available.
Some one needs to put a bridle on this clueless jak@$$
and stop trying to take credit for something he had nothing
to do with.