Employees have lodged complaints with the Department of Labour against the Princess Hotel.
Stabroek News spoke with several employees, who asked not to be named for fear of victimization, and they also alleged harassment by management of the Providence, East Bank Demerara hotel and casino.
Junior Social Protection Minister Simona Broomes says she will carry out an investigation into the reports.
When the hotel was contacted, a Personnel Officer refused to offer a comment over the phone and invited Stabroek News to a meeting today to discuss the issues raised by the workers.
A female employee of the hotel told Stabroek News that most of the workers are dissatisfied with the treatment being meted out to them, but since there is a scarcity of jobs, many are afraid to speak out.
She said that a male was recently dismissed from his job after he refused the command of one of his seniors to carry a table through the rain.
“He tell the boy to fetch the table and the boy refuse and say how he ain’ going through no rain and then them fire the boy,” the employee said.
She highlighted also that the managers are callous as they would demand that females fetch tables and chairs. “Them ain’ care if you just get a baby or you ain’ feeling good or nothing… them gon’ order you to fetch them heavy, heavy furniture,” the woman said, while she added that workers are afraid to refuse to obey the orders as refusing results in a warning letter followed by dismissal.
Another worker related that like all the other employees she is given one day off per week. And although the law stipulates a 40-hour work week over five days, with overtime afterward, she said that no extra pay is offered for the additional day.
In addition, she noted that sometimes she is ordered to work beyond eight hours daily, with no extra pay. “Once your shift is over and they have some event to cater for, they will just come and tell you that you can’t go home because they have this event and we can’t tell them nothing,” the employee stated.
When the issue was raised with Minister Broomes, she noted that demanding that employees work beyond eight hours per day and beyond five days per week with no extra pay is unlawful and she emphasised that if that is happening at the workplace, employees will have to be paid the outstanding amount.
Another female worker complained of being pushed in the back by her manager as he ordered her to carry out duties.
While that employee expressed satisfaction with her working environment, she said that the manner which the managers treat employees is unbecoming. She recalled one of her colleagues being sent home after refusing an order to feed cats which are lingering on the premises. “The manager come and tell she to go and feed the cats and she tell the manager that she didn’t come here to feed cats… then next day, she was dismissed from her job,” the employee said.
Employees also complained of being denied days off on weekends and holidays. Days off are usually given from Monday to Friday, except when holidays fall on week days. “If you always getting Wednesday as you day off and the holiday is Wednesday, they will put you on another day,” an employee explained.
The employees also complained about being forced to work on their day off in the event that they were ill and could not come to work.
