Hilton staff to be paid salaries

PHOTO COURTESY HILTON TRINIDAD
PHOTO COURTESY HILTON TRINIDAD

Workers at the Trinidad Hilton hotel have been assured by the government that they will be paid salaries owed to them.

The decision was announced in a media release from the Ministry of Communications on Thursday which denied reports that public sector workers were being terminated.

The release also announced that intervention from Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon led to the reversal of a decision to send the workers home without salaries.

“The decision which was previously announced that the Hilton workers would have been sent home with total loss of pay, has been withdrawn. This has been as a result of the timely intervention by the Minister of Trade and Industry. These workers have since been assured of receipt of their salaries.”

On Tuesday an internal memo was sent to staff, in which the hotel said due to low occupancy rates it was unable to sustain the payment of full salaries and wages to workers and took a decision to temporarily lay off all team members without pay until April 30.

Staff members were given the options to continue their vacation leave and use their entire entitlement for 2020, use the remainder of their vacation and then agree to a reduction in your salary by 75 per cent or cease any vacation/No Pay Leave and agree to a reduction in your salary/work schedule by 75 % from April 1 to April 30.

The Ministry of Communications has denied reports that large numbers of public-sector workers have been terminated, saying staff deemed non-essential personnel will continue to work from home while being paid their salaries.

The release dismissed claims from Public Services Association (PSA) leader Watson Duke of mass terminations in state owned enterprises. The ministry also accused Duke of trying to turn workers against the government.

“It is meant to lure public-sector workers into believing that their jobs are being perniciously terminated and their salaries denied. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the release said.

On the Job Training (OJT), the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and Reforestation workers have all been assured their salaries remain intact, the release said.

Duke made the remarks during a live video broadcast on Facebook on Wednesday in which he questioned the future of workers after the coronavirus pandemic.

Comments

"Hilton staff to be paid salaries"

More in this section