Club Med workers strike

[KarenS]

A labor strike at the Club Med resort in the French Caribbean island of Martinique has prompted hundreds of guests to leave while management and employees negotiate, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

The strike began Wednesday morning (Jan 24) because of a dispute over how the workers would split up the 35-hour work week required under French law, said Kate Moeller, a spokeswoman for Club Mediterranee SA's North American and Caribbean operations.

For the full article go <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/25/business/CB-FIN-Martinique-Club-Med.php">here.</a>

[KarenS]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Club Med said it is offering vacationers at its resort in the French Caribbean island of Martinique alternative accommodations because of a hotel workers' strike that is about to enter its second week.

Guests with reservations at Buccaneer's Creek in Sainte-Anne between Feb. 5 and Feb. 19 can choose from several options, including vacationing at other Club Med locations or going to the resort on the island's south coast at a later date, Kate Moeller, a spokeswoman for Club Mediterranee SA's North American and Caribbean operations, said late Monday in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

For the full report go <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/06/business/CB-FIN-Martinique-Club-Med.php">here.</a>

[KarenS]

The latest press release (2/13/07):THE WORK STOPPAGE, which temporarily has closed Club Med Buccaneer's Creek in Martinique since Jan. 25, continues to affect the resort. The 293-room property is not accepting new reservations through Feb. 19. Guests booked through that date may travel to other Club Med resorts or rebook at Buccaneer's Creek at a later date. For details, call (888) WEB-CLUB or visit www.clubmed.com.

[KarenS]

From a recent pres release:
FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) -- Employees agreed to return to work at the Club Med on the French Caribbean island of Martinique after a nearly three-week strike that drove away guests.

Under the deal, the resort planned to welcome guests beginning Saturday.

"This resort must get going again quickly," said Yan Monplaisir, head of Societe Martiniquaise de Villages de Vacances, which operates the resort.

Management and workers agreed to form a group to come up with ways to divide the 35-hour work week mandated by French law -- the key issue that workers said forced them to walk off the job.

But Herve Zenoki, a spokesman for striking workers, said that as long as that issue remains unresolved, the deal is tenuous. "We remain vigilant," he said.

The agreement also allows for a 2 percent pay increase retroactive to Sept. 1, 2006.

The Martinique resort reopened in December 2005 after a US$60 million (euro46 million) renovation.