Management of the Hotel Tower has been granted a time extension by the court to formulate a plan as it pertains to litigation brought by the Ministry of Labour for payment for the hotel’s staff that are owed.
The Labour Ministry had initiated legal action last month to get the previous owners to pay the over $5 million owed to workers.
Through its lawyer, Pricilla Chandra, the ministry filed a summons asking that the court order the hotel’s management to pay up on debts to the workers and any other sum the court feels the workers should get.
The matter was called on Monday in the High Court and attorney for Hotel Tower, Marcel Bobb, requested a time extension. It was granted and the case comes up again for hearing on December 11.
A total of $5,577,633 in wages, salaries and other benefits are owed to 67 former workers of the hotel. They were promised payments several times by owner Salim Azeez, who has to date not given any commitments on when payments will be made after being given several time extensions by the Labour Ministry.
On May 23 this year, the hotel abruptly closed. Workers had protested after they were told by way of an anonymous phone call that letters were at the front counter for them. They said when they collected their letters, they learned that that day was the last day of work for them as the hotel was closing. The hotel subsequently said business had declined dramatically in recent times. It assured that assets would be liquidated to pay outstanding amounts to its employees, although it has subsequently broken several promises to pay them.
Then late last month Canadian Mike Mosgrove announced that he was buying the hotel at a price pegged at US$8 million. On Tuesday he told Stabroek News that more information on how the sale agreement was coming along will be made available in about “4 to 5 weeks’ time.”
