Workers of Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra have given the National Labour Commission (NLC) a one-week ultimatum from the 28th of October up until 4th November 2020 to help resolve issues regarding their full redundancy packages.
This follows the decision of the hotel’s Chief Executive Officer to lay off some staff members.
According to the workers, in 2019, they were informed that the hotel was to be purchased by a new owner who would no longer need their services.
Some of the workers have served the hotel since its establishment in 2008 in Ghana.
The workers alleged that they were promised a redundancy package by the owner of the hotel, Patrick Farez, but they disagreed with the deal.
They said they were later informed in April 2020 that the hotel was no longer going to be sold, yet they were still rendered redundant.
The plight of the workers was compounded by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic which resulted in the closure of the hotel in May 2020.
The workers then took their grievances to the National Labour Commission whose arbitrators gave a ruling directing the owner of the hotel, Patrick Farez, to pay the workers their salaries, allowances, benefits and redundancy pay from the 10th of April to the 13th of October.
In an interview with Citi Business News, Local Union Secretary for Holiday Inn, Daniel Opoku who along with his colleagues massed up at the premises of the NLC explained that two weeks had passed since the cut off date for them to have received their pay only to be told from the NLC that their arbitrators made a mistake with the ruling, and have asked that they go back and negotiate terms of their pay with the CEO, Patrick Farez.
“The ruling was specific, the arbitrators awarded us one month salary for each year of service and then the arbitrators also asked the CEO of Holiday Inn to pay us from the April to the 13th of October which was the cut-off date for payment to be made”.
“The National Labour Commission said their arbitrators made a mistake with the ruling. We want to know how that is possible. This matter will not end here. We will speak to our lawyers. This is a rip-off from the National Labour Commission. We don’t think they have been fair to us. We have worked for thirteen years with Holiday Inn, how much will they take home to their families?”
He also told Citi Business News that they have given NLC a one-week ultimatum to address the issue.
“We are demanding for the National Labour Commission to give us a fair ruling. We are giving them one week to do so”.
The workers say they are yet to be given letters of terminations of their appointments.
The hotel according to the workers resumed operations three weeks ago but only contract staff of the hotel have been asked to go back to work.
