Bermuda Hotel Workers Walk Out, Disrupt Vacations for Thousands
Hotel workers went on strike Friday in a dispute over tips, disrupting the vacations of thousands of tourists.
Bellboys, restaurant staff, maids and all other types of workers in the Bermuda Industrial Union began forming picket lines at 5:30 a.m. Friday.
Union president Ottiwell Simmons said 3,000 workers from all 19 of the island’s major hotels would be on strike until their demands are met.
Many of the hotels were reported to be fully booked, mostly with tourists from the United States. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tourists were affected by the walkout.
Tips are built into bills at the major hotels. The dispute is over the workers’ share of increased tips charged to guests starting three years ago. Simmons said the hotels haven’t been passing on the workers’ share of the larger tips, and the employees are owed more than $1 million.
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