The company responsible for both the Savoy Resort and Spa Hotel and the Coral Strand Hotel at Beau Vallon has been given a 48-hour notice as of yesterday, August 6, to pay in full the basic salaries for the month of July 2020 for its local employees in both establishments or face legal action.

It was the principal secretary for employment, Jules Baker, who made the statement following a one-hour meeting on the subject with the management of both hotels, including staff representatives and the chairman of the Seychelles Federation of Workers Union (SFWU), Antoine Robinson.

This follows the company failing to pay the employees their full July salaries by Wednesday August 5, 2020 as required by law which resulted in a strike yesterday morning by the hotel workers who refused to work after they had learned that they had been paid, through their bank accounts, only part of their basic salaries (Savoy employees at 89% and Coral Strand employees at 41%), excluding tax and pension payment.

“We have given them the 48-hour timeline to negotiate with their head office in Russia with which we are also in negotiation and we expect that we will sort it out within the 48 hours. So if it is not sorted out, appropriate actions will be taken,” Mr Baker said, noting that the company is in default with the law for failing to pay the salaries on time and in full, and also in default for failing to pay the taxes and pensions of the workers.

He claimed that the company should have informed the workers well in advance that their taxes and pensions were not being paid for May 2020 and June 2020, due to its accounts being frozen as a result of a court case.

The company, who is being assisted under the Financial Assistance For Job Retention (FA4JR) scheme as of the month of June 2020, did pay in full the salaries of their employees for that month (June) following a protest by the Coral Strand Hotel employees at the Independence and a protest by the Savoy employees at the State House gate entrance that same month. The company’s application was rejected for the FA4JR scheme as it was found that it had enough money to pay for its workers wages. But following a court case with a local construction company, which resulted in the frozen of its accounts, it was then in the absence of the case that the decision was taken to assist it under the FA4JR scheme to pay the worker’s gross salaries.

Though frustrated, the group of workers who had gathered at the Coral Strand Hotel at 8am yesterday managed to keep their calm all along until the meeting ended. Most of their complaints were about difficulties to pay back their loans among other personal activities and the fact also that their taxes and pensions were not paid to relevant authorities even though their pay slips reflected those deductions.

One of the worker’s representatives at the meeting, Margaret Belize, cluster event executive, Savoy, said that though not too happy that their salaries will be delayed further, they are somehow relieved that a decision has been taken for them to get their full salary including payment of their taxes and pensions.

Expressing his disappointment, Mr Robinson strongly insisted that government does take action against the company for mistreating the Seychellois workers given the fact that it was assisted with the money in the FA4JR scheme to pay the workers.

The company is also being charged with failing to pay the wages of its expatriate workers made redundant since May, 2020, and who are still in the country awaiting flights to go home.

Patrick Joubert