Tensions are mounting at Accor’s luxury hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila over plans to close the hotel on July 1, allegedly for renovations. Concerns about the closure have caused so much concern that a Senator has called on the Congress of the Philippines to launch a Senate committee to investigate its implications for labour.
IUF affiliate NUWHRAIN believes that the closure by the hotel owner, the Philippine Plaza Holdings Inc. (PPHI), is a disguised attempt to bust the union and has been organizing protests at the hotel to draw attention to the inconsistencies in management’s stated reasons for the closure. The union wants to know why, as in the past, the hotel cannot remain open while renovations take place and has asked for guarantees that should the hotel close, when it reopens, the permanent staff be reinstated.
NUHWRAIN and the IUF are demanding that Philippine Plaza Holding Inc.:
- recognize and respect NUHWRAIN by engaging with the union in meaningful negotiations
- re-hire permanent workers after the renovation, with seniority and all rights and benefits under the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement
- give priority and preference during hiring to long-term casual workers
The IUF has also called on Accor as the hotel operator to ensure it fulfills all its obligations under the OECD Guidelines to mitigate to the maximum extent practicable any adverse effects of the closure whether temporary or permanent.
Arnold Bautista, a member of NUWHRAIN, commented, “The renovations will address allegedly unsafe conditions in the hotel. Given that the renovations will continue, the union believes that the closure is only temporary, and that the hotel will eventually reopen. So, we ask, why terminate the workers if the establishment will continue its operations?”
