The management of Airport Hotel, Ikeja, has directed its workers to proceed on three months compulsory leave without pay. The development, according to a letter to the workers, yesterday, is borne out of current devastation on businesses by COVID-19.
The letter, dated 21/04/2020 and signed by Yemi Madu (Mrs), HHRA&T-LAHL, and titled to “ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF: NOTICE TO GO ON THREE MONTHS STAY BACK AT HOME WITHOUT PAY,” has also attracted the attention of organised labour that has vowed to ensure the directive does not stand as it is considered unconstitutional.
The letter states: “We regret to inform you of the decision of management for you to continue your stay at home after your leave for three months without pay till the company contacts you. “This is due to the company’s present financial crisis and its future uncertainty in this prevailing covid-19 pandemic.
“This decision was painful and we are sorry it has to come to this, but we continue to hope for the best and wish you well.” However, the organised labour unions in the sector, Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association (HAPSSSA) and the National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Workers (NUHPSW) said they were not carried along in the management’s crucial decision.
The immediate past president of HAPSSA, Ademola Adeyemi, said the action of the Airport Hotel management was against the law, hence the workers are not going to abide with it. “This is a global issue, why should the Airport Hotel take such an action? We have other hotels all over the country, which are still keeping their workers,” he said.
The labour leader queried the rationale for Airport Hotel to keep workers away for three months, wondering if they would be the ones to determine when the global virus would end. Adeyemi, who lamented how the workers would survive without pay for three months, said the management of the hotel was just being insensitive to the workers, who have given their all to the success of the organisation.
He said: “How do they want the workers to survive for three months when even the March salary has not been paid since all the workers have been forced to a compulsory leave? “Where is decent work here, how do we pay our bills, feed our families and meet with other expenses?” The former president said the decision did not have a wide consultation of all the stakeholders, including the owner of the hotel, Odua Group, stating the more reason why the workers would resist it.
The ravaging Coronavirus has taken toll on the hospitality business in Nigeria, especially since the lockdown. In Port Harcourt, some hotels have closed shop, following the outbreak of Coronavirus which has resulted in lockdown in Rivers State.
Visits by a Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to some parts of the city showed that many hotels were under lock and key. When NAN visited Echelon Height Hotel on Elekohia Road, which used to be a beehive of activities, it was firmly locked, with only security men seen manning the entrance. Other hotels in the city were also not open for business, while the usual hustle and bustle around them had vanished. Also, the ever-busy Presidential Hotel, which used to play host to different categories of guests and events, was enveloped with unusual calm, as no activity was taking place there.
The Nigeria Hotel Association, Rivers State Chapter, says its members have lost N15 billion worth of businesses since the outbreak of Coronavirus in the state. Hotel businesses in Ogun have continued to suffer losses due to the lockdown in the state. A visit to some hotels in Abeokuta metropolis indicated that many of them did not open to customers. The Rock City Hotel on Abiola Way, the Morkland Hotel at Ibara and the Richton Hotel and Suites at Oke- Ilewo areas of Abeokuta were all deserted. The popular Daktad Hotels on Quarry road was a shadow of itself as the usual hustle bustle associated with the outlet was no longer there.
The few cars seen at the car park were said to belong to the outlets’ workers while there were no signs of customers going in or out of the premises. Speaking with NAN, the Hotel Manager of Conference Hotel, Sagamu, Mr. Michael Osho, lamented the negative effect of the lockdown on the outlet, saying the development had impacted negatively on its fortunes. In Benin, some hotels, lounges and bars are closing down as a result of low patronage. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported that most of the hotels in Benin have laid off their workers while some retained few of their workforce.
They noted that most of the highbrow hotels in Benin have either shut down or merely operating skeletal service to keep the place open and not necessarily opened for profit making. Seyi Abiodun, a manager of one of the big hotels along Etete area of Benin, said that the decision to shut down was a painful one as they had ran at a loss for several days. Hotel operators in states within the North- East said they are facing difficult times as a result of the lockdown of states occasioned by the pandemic.
In a survey conducted by NAN, managers of hotels said patronage of their services was at its lowest ebb; as such most of them were operating at a huge loss. They said although the security situation experienced in the 11 years had posed the same challenge, the current problem was more devastating on their businesses. The operators, therefore, pleaded for the assistance of authorities, organisations and individuals through the extension of palliatives to cover them.
