Coco Reef resort workers say they are still awaiting word from management about their future afterthe company’s decision to shut down operations temporarily.

“We are just here waiting in vain. We have heard nothing,” a worker told Newsday on Tuesday.

The worker said since their virtual meeting with Coco Reef resort director Lyle Pauls on August 14, they have not been told anything about paid vacation, severance payments or the future of the company.

Coco Reef, like many other hotels and resorts in Tobago, has been hit hard by the effects of the covid19 pandemic.

“I think that they (management) themselves have no information for us. They do not seem to have the slightest clue as to what is the next step.”

She said the resort continues to operate with a skeleton staff, comprising security, accounts and human resource personnel. She said employees who worked in specific departments have been called out in other areas.

In an August 5 release, Coco Reef owner and chairman John Jefferis said the current levels of staffing and employment at the resort cannot continue as they have done during the covid19 pandemic.

Jefferis said Coco Reef’s reopening will be planned "as travel resumes, as vaccinations increase and as new hospitality initiatives and protocols are embraced and implemented."

The resort is hoping to reopen in mid-November, but this will depend on several factors, including tourist arrivals and rate of covid19 infections on the island.

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