Guinean IUF affiliate FHTRC-ONSLG held a press conference on June 24, 2021 to commemorate Mariam Camara, a housekeeper and union activist at the Sheraton Grand Conakry, who died on June 24, 2020 in the midst of a fight for healthcare coverage for workers at the hotel. Since the union’s successful election in February 2020, the union’s priority has been healthcare given that the Sheraton is the only luxury hotel in the country that does not cover any healthcare costs for its employees.
- When Sheraton Grand Conakry housekeeper Mariam Camara fell ill, the hotel refused to cover her costs, despite the FHRTC and IUF’s numerous protest actions
- Sheraton Grand Conakry has engaged in anti-union activity since its opening and terminated the two principal union officers, General Secretary Amadou Diallo and Deputy General Secretary Alhassane Diallo in October 2020
- The campaign for healthcare and for the reinstatement of the unjustly terminated union officers continues with a new complaint filed yesterday by the IUF to the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (key investor in the Sheraton) regarding Palma Guinea’s (owner of the Sheraton) refusal to abide by the IFC’s Performance Standards, national and international law
In her comments at the press conference, FHTRC-ONSLG General Secretary Asmaou Bah Doukouré said: “As a woman, a leader of a women’s movement, and union leader, I can say that Mariam’s death at the young age of 32 is a tragedy that could have been avoided if Sheraton had taken care of her. We must stand to defend the rights of all workers in Guinea and across Africa, so that such tragedies never, ever repeat themselves.”
The press conference was followed by a memorial reading of the Qur’an at Mariam’s family home. May she rest in power.
