IUF affiliate FHTRC-ONSLG continues to push for fair treatment for the hundreds of Sheraton Grand Conakry workers who were laid off following the abrupt announcement of the hotel’s closure in December. Workers have continued to mobilize on a weekly basis to demand justice from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (key investor), Palma Guinea (owner) and Marriott (operator) as well as the Government of Guinea which has failed to hold the hotel accountable for myriad violations of labor rights and occupation health and safety standards.
Despite the hotel’s closure for three months, no renovations have begun. The union’s demands include:
- Full pay and continued access to health care for the workers during the period of the hotel’s closure
- Access for the IUF’s Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator to the hotel to evaluate the extent of the contamination and to develop the union’s proposal for a risk assessment
- Guaranteed recall rights in writing for every worker to ensure that when the hotel reopens, management does not discriminate against trade union activists and members
- Suspension of short-term bank loan repayments during the period of the hotel closure
FHTRC-ONSLG General Secretary Asmaou Bah stated, “Even during the closure, Marriott’s anti-union campaign continues: no negotiation, no problem-solving, no respect for the workers and their families. Development finance is supposed to help workers, but at the Sheraton Grand Conakry, we see rights abuse after rights abuse. We call on the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to step up and enforce your labor rights standards immediately.”
