Fired dealers accuse casino of sexual harassment
The big hotel on the Barracks is undergoing a multi-million dollar expansion and attracting weekend visitors from as far away as Cancun and Merida. But while things at the Princess Hotel and Casino look bright and shiny, the view from behind the gambling tables is much less rosy. On Wednesday a group of five casino dealers who had just been abruptly fired visited News Five to complain that the pit bosses, who come from Turkey, treat them with contempt and disrespect. Part of the women’s dissatisfaction stems from what they call an environment of habitual sexual harassment.
Cheryl Dixon
“Basically we think that there is sexual harassment with the dealers and so and if we are not up to it, they want to fire us for that. They don’t want us to voice our opinions when we try to speak for our rights in there. They always try to take advantage of us, especially us, especially women. They say in their country that women are nothing.”
Alicia Myers
“I remember one time, one of the pit boss came to me and he asked me if I know what is 69? Do I like 69? Would I like a 69 from him? Also he had a time when he stacked some chips in front of him and he would ask me this. The chips contain about 20 to make up a stack. Something of about a length like this. He would ask me if this size if big enough for me? Can I handle that or do I want a little smaller? Things like that. They would come beside me and speak in my ear. They would come behind me and lean over me while I am inspecting or things like that, “juck” me in my side in front of all the customers, while they are right there.
Cheryl Dixon
“And if you don’t want to go on dates with them, they get mad with you and start treating you different.”
Marlon Smith
“I was right there, I observe everything and I was the one who was always voicing my opinion. I know my rights and I know what is the concept of a boss. We should respect him as a boss, we should listen to him work wise, but yet these females shouldn’t go through what they do. They have the pit bosses, which are Jimel, Jenk, and Jumet. They go to females and they blow in their ears and they harass them. They had an incident one time when they had a female that this guy, this pit boss, he constantly, constantly tries to bother her to go out. But the way he asks her is like she is afraid of her job if she says no. One time she was crying, literally crying and the girls asked her what happened and she told them. This was just recently, last week. And this kinds of stuff goes on and on and on. And the way that they speak to us, how they speak to them, literally bad words. If you’re stupid or they curse, if you make a mistake. Everyone makes a mistake and your bound to make a mistake at times, right, but there shouldn’t be that vulgarity in front of customers.”
To get the Princess Hotel’s side of the story News Five spoke to Casino Manager Paul DeHaan. DeHaan, who has only been on the job for two weeks, was not on the premises when the workers were fired but was aware that some dismissals were being planned. He said that he is still looking into the matter but emphasized that the Princess has a strict policy against sexual harassment and that fraternisation between supervisors and workers is prohibited. At no time, says DeHaan, did any of the fired workers ever complain to management about sexual harassment despite an open door policy for workers’ grievances. The Princess employs over one hundred and seventy-five people and is in the process of adding 68 new rooms, a 200-seat movie theater and enlarged marina. The dismissed employees have taken their case to the Labour Department.
