No staff laid off

WESTERN BUREAU:

Shelleitha Curtis did not expect to cry that morning. She was packing care packages – adding rice, juices, diapers, disposable food containers, garbage bags, cooking oil, and other essentials – for team members shaken by Hurricane Melissa, when emotion overwhelmed her.

Not because of the storm, but because of what she was witnessing: a company choosing compassion over convenience, walking with its people through one of the most difficult chapters in Jamaica’s recent history.

Hurricane Melissa caused major disruptions to the country’s tourism operations, with several properties temporarily suspending operations. Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has set a target of December 15 for a full return to normal operations in the sector.

Five Sandals and Beaches resorts in Negril, Westmoreland, and Ocho Rios, St Ann, are scheduled to reopen on December 6. Meanwhile, Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean, and Sandals South Coast will remain closed until May 30, 2026.

Despite the extended closures, the luxury resort chain has pledged more than US$3 million (approximately J$480 million) toward staff recovery and has guaranteed that no employee will be laid off, even at properties that remain closed until May 2026.

The no-layoff commitment was made by Executive Chairman Adam Stewart during two global virtual town halls attended by more than 3,000 travel advisors and guests.

“A hundred per cent of our team remain on payroll – whether they’re at an open or closed resort,” Stewart said. “All benefits will remain in place, pension, medical, dental, everything.”

In addition, every team member received a monetary grant, a timely financial cushion that staff say arrived at the precise moment when they were uncertain how they would replace food, buy school items, or meet urgent family needs.

For Monique Munroe, a decade-long member of the Sandals Negril accounts team, Curtis’ tears said everything.

“It touched her heart, and it touched ours,” she said of the emotions displayed by the human resources coordinator at Sandals Negril. “Because when you looked at those packages, you saw love. You saw effort. You saw a company that cares.”

Munroe lost the entire roof of her six-apartment board house in Green Island, Hanover. Yet she insists her story is not one of destruction, but of restoration.

“I am elated,” she said. “Every day I go on social media and boast about my company. Sandals really, truly cares.”

At Sandals Montego Bay, Gwendolyn Sloley, a sous chef of 23 years, found herself sheltering a dozen displaced people in her Norwood, St James home following the storm. Her two adult children lost their jobs in the hurricane’s aftermath, leaving her as the sole breadwinner for the household and everyone who walked through her door. She is grateful that her company has stood with staff during these challenging times.

“Imagine being at home and still receiving your full salary and gratuity,” she said. “That does not happen anywhere else.”

She believes Sandals’ response reflects genuine humanity. “They didn’t just think about the company. They thought about us, our families, our stress, our needs.”

For Richard West, who lives in Melbourne Avenue, St James, Melissa brought flooding and damage that he feared would set him back months. When he heard the resort would be closed for an extended period, panic took over.

“I started thinking I’d have to find another job,” he said. “I have a daughter. Things were already hard.”

Then he found reason to exhale gently.

“The news that all staff would remain fully employed felt like a miracle. Honestly? It was a relief I cannot explain,” he said.

Preliminary figures have put the cost of damage to Jamaica by Hurricane Melissa at about US$6 to US$7 billion.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said that an 8 to 13 per cent decline in GDP is expected as a result of the devastation caused by the Category 5 storm.

Head of the hotel chain, Stewart, shared that he was deeply moved when he met staff at Sandals South Coast in the days after the storm.

“They were personally affected, yet they were asking how they could help rebuild,” he said. “It humbled me. That is the Jamaican spirit – resilient, compassionate, proud.”

In a letter to staff last week, Regional Managing Director Jeremy Jones affirmed the company’s position.

“We will stand with you every step of the way as we recover and rebuild together,” he said. “Your full base salary and gratuities will be paid throughout the closure period, and your health, life and pension benefits will remain in place.”

The company’s stance has offered several families more than just financial support, but also hope, dignity, and belonging.

In the words of Munroe: “We lost our roofs. We lost things. But we didn’t lose our company. Sandals stood with us. And that makes all the difference.”