Hotel staff complain of gross abuse

Employees at Hotel Selibe are unhappy with their payments and welfare. The new 42-roomed hotel began operating in April last year.

An employee who preferred to be anonymous told The Midweek Sun that their employers are in the habit of giving them one-month contracts which are then renewed upon expiry. For those who are not lucky, the contracts are not renewed and new employees are then called in for more one-month contracts. “Everything about this hotel management is very bad. We were made to open up bank accounts where our fixed salaries would be deposited. But we are still paid in envelopes. We can be called around 11pm to come get our money in brown envelopes,” he said.

Employees there say there are those who last year, upon opening of the hotel, were employed on a one-year contract, but have since been told that upon expiry next month, the contracts will not be renewed. They say they were told they have been overpaid. “None of them is going to have a renewal because they are regarded as overpaid employees. They are forced to take their leave days and that if they have not used them action will be taken against them,” he said.

Another of the employees told The Midweek Sun that they are never paid overtime and that their salaries are deducted by the hotel Director, Shaik Mahommad. “They have gone back on their word and shifted the goalposts. Initially were told that we are on fixed salaries which we were informed of,, but now we are told that we are paid per hour worked, and the said times do not tally with the salaries we were promised. When Mahommed undermines you, he can cut your salary but after fighting or beating him up, you can get your salary. He was beaten on three to four occasions by employees for cutting salaries for no valid reasons,” he said, adding: “On all those occasions, the right salaries were then handed out.”

Mohammed told The Midweek Sun that he could not comment on the issues, saying that rather, the hotel manager was the one best-placed to respond. “I don’t know anything about the employees’ contracts. The hotel manager is the one who has the information. I can’t say anything much about these issues,” said Mahommed.

The said manager, Headman Murangi, would upon speaking to The Midweek Sun refute the allegations made by their employees. He said all employees had been given one-year contracts which end in March, but added that he did not know if the contracts would be renewed. “When we started operating last year, all employees were given one-year contracts,” he said.

Hotel Selebi is owned by Krupa Enterprises Company, which has been doing business in Botswana for the last 20 years. Murangi said the hotel was doing well and not affected by the BCL mine closure. He said they are going to do staff appraisals end of March as it will be the end of their first year of business operation.