On January 4, the workers at Onomo Hotel in Conakry, voted overwhelmingly to join IUF affiliate FHTRC-ONSLG, the union federation for hotel workers in Guinea. After Onomo workers petitioned for union elections in June 2023, management terminated and then subcontracted one-third of the workforce, scheduled and then cancelled elections in October, persistently targeted the FHTRC-ONSLG’s union candidates, and violated numerous laws in the lead up to the election.
Onomo Hotels’ largest development financing support comes from British International Investment (BII), the UK development bank, which loaned 46 million USD to the company in 2017. The IUF and labor ally GLJ-ILRF filed complaints with BII concerning violations of national law, international standards, and BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing, leading to an ongoing investigation of the company’s conduct in the Conakry election and non-compliance with bank safeguards.
FHTRC-ONSLG and the IUF are calling on BII to ensure that Onomo management:
- Bargains in good faith to ensure all workers receive legally required wages and benefits
- Grants permanent contracts to workers who have worked at Onomo for over two years in accordance with Guinean law
- Ceases all forms of anti-union intimidation and harassment
One of the union leaders who was illegally subcontracted after working at the hotel for over four years, Kadiatou Camara, stated: “Onomo fired me and switched me to BCEIP [the subcontracting agency] even though I had given four years to the company. The law says I should be a permanent worker after two years. I am so happy we have won the union. The union will defend us.”
