By OSWALD T. BROWN

Erik Christiansen gets irritated when it is suggested that Bahamians have poor work habits.

Christiansen, owner of Freeport's Pelican Bay Resort, quickly points out to anyone making that claim that nothing could be further from the truth, and in doing so he is speaking from experience.

The 186-room Pelican Bay Resort has a staff of 150, only three of whom are foreigners, and Christiansen states unequivocally that his Bahamian staff are all "very good workers."

"I can take my Bahamian crew into Europe and I can compete with any crew I have in Europe," said Christiansen, a native of Denmark, who retired as a highly successful European real estate investor and moved to Grand Bahama 12 years ago.

He rose to prominence in Europe in the 1960s when he became president of Blauwhoed, the largest real estate firm in The Netherlands. While running that company, he founded and became chairman of a subsidiary, Hexalon, which he directed to become one of the largest foreign real estate investors in North America.

In 1984, he created Compagnie Financiere du Benelux in Brussels, a privately held group managing assets of more than $800 million.

Christiansen's views on the work ethics of Bahamians were sought because he has a reputation as being a no-nonsense individual who does not tolerate mediocrity, yet he is revered by his staff, which probably accounts for the fact that Pelican Bay has remained free of union problems similar to those experienced by the now-closed Crowne Plaza Resort and Casino at Royal Oasis.

"He is a bit tough, but he is a genuinely honest person and a man of his word," said Nathan Ellis, suites coordinator at Pelican Bay. "He is a nice person to work for."

Another employee who did not want to be named added: "I have not been working here a very long time, but it is a pleasant place to work and I like it a lot."

Reiterating that there is nothing at all wrong with the Bahamian worker, Christiansen said that does not "mean that they do not need to be trained, but that's also true for a Dane or a Dutchman."

"There is nothing special about training and being a Bahamian," he said. "That does not mean that we have no problems, but I think that the problem is much more with the management than with the workers...If you really analyze why things are not working as precisely as they should, then very often you will find that the problem is the management."

He noted that some people think that when "they get a higher position, they are allowed to work less, show up later to the job, go home earlier, and have longer lunches."

"I don't think so," he said. "I think that leadership is something you do from the front, not from he back...There are no bad soldiers, only bad officers, and weak officers always complain about the soldiers. There is nothing Bahamian about that; it's precisely the same as if we were in Denmark, or if we were in the U.S. The difference is that the Bahamians are more eager to learn than anywhere else I've seen in the world."

Christiansen said that when he started to build Pelican Bay, there were "people who said that I couldn't do it of the same quality I spoke about, but if you give the Bahamian workforce the chance to do good, they will...We have only good experiences with Bahamians."

With regard to labour harmony, Christiansen suggested that efforts should be made to "avoid as much social strife as possible."

He noted that The Bahamas has a background of having been a British colony, adding that the industrial revolution started with the British and the labour movement "be-came a confrontational labour movement due to the nature of the industrial revolution having started there."

"I have the feeling that sometimes we have the remnants of too much confrontation in the relationship between labour and employer, but that's a historical fact," he said. "I don't think that the labor movement should be softer, but I think it should be less confrontational and there should be a more negotiable relationship. That is something that should be learnt by both labour and employer."

On the other hand, he added, he has noticed the patience that labour sometimes have with employers who withhold money for National Insurance and don't pay the National Insurance.

"That is, I believe, almost a criminal offence in America, and here we have much patience with it," Christiansen said. "I believe that I have not worked anywhere in the world where I have had as good a relationship with labour as I have had in The Bahamas, and I believe that that should be emphasized a little more than just the negative. The labour force in The Bahamas is eager to learn, is positive, and is very competent."

Referring to his employees at Pelican Bay, he said the best measurement of their competence are responses from clients of the resort.

"I hardly have dissatisfaction," Christiansen said. "I virtually only have satisfied clients."

EAGER TO LEARN — Eric Christiansen says Bahamians are more eager to learn than anywhere else he has seen in the world.

(Photo by OSWALD T. BROWN)