The Guyana Marriott Hotel fired some 40 Guyanese staff members earlier this week, ostensibly in the wake of falling profits due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hotel was reportedly forced to cancel all special events booked at the venue for the remainder of this year. It has seen significantly less persons booking rooms or visiting the restaurant, bar and poolside as a result of the pandemic.
Employees were retained for months, working on a shift system with reduced salaries. The emplyees who were fired said they had received repeated assurances from management that their jobs were secured.
“We turned up at work in the morning and were asked to report to [Human Resources] and there we were told that we were being let go with one month pay…
“We were immediately escorted to our desks and lockers to clear them and then escorted off the premises… All our years of service ended in 20 minutes.”, one ex-employee said.
The hotel’s Senior Director of Public Relations for the Caribbean and Latin America, Kerstin Sachl, justified the decision saying that due to the pandemic, the hotel’s profits have been at its lowest.
Guyana’s airports have been closed to incoming flights since March and still does not allow for foreigners or tourists to enter the country. This leaves the hotel almost completely unoccupied and there is no significant income stream, other than the local needs.
The lack of income has reportedly left the hotel struggling to keep its doors open and services afloat.
The fired employees were upset at the fact that only Guyanese staff were fired in this operation on the grounds that their jobs had become redundant. They also claimed that several management employees in redundant positions were still being kept on.
