FATE OF SUN BEACH HOTEL IN LIMBO

While the management of Sun Beach Hotel and its staff have failed to break barriers over demand for forced-vacation and salary payment, the hotel manager has said he would “close the hotel”, a source closer to MarketPlace has revealed. According to our source, the manager said he would close the hotel and if the matter is taken to court, it would prove futile. The source also said that majority of the staff have spent almost 10 years working in the said hotel but are still paid a paltry D930. “We used to call our salary ‘half past nine’ because we are paid only D930 a month,” the source explained.

Sun Beach Hotel What used to be an environment conducive for Chefs, barkeepers and cooks in a hotel with one of the best beaches of all the resorts coupled with a picturesque curve of fine white sand with thatched umbrella shades, is on the verge of closing. Our source said the junior staff have resolved that “no staff will go on unpaid leave”, but must be paid their entitlements if the hotel is to be closed. “It is just like history is repeating itself. Last year, some staff went for leave without being paid and when they resumed, their services with the hotel were terminated,” the source noted. The Management has told more than one hundred staff of the hotel to “go” on vacation for almost half year without their pockets being filled with rewards for their labour. Now the hotel management is in bad times, as reports have it that the hotel “cannot operate”, and management is considering “closing the hotel”, which used to have one of the best tourist accommodations in The Gambia, blending in with its surroundings, brightly and colourfully decorated.

A panorama view from the hotel Whilst the Management is considering a redundancy and ultimately closing the hotel, the fates of some of the staff are hanging on the balance as on Monday 21 May 2012 a meeting was convened with heads of departments, which resulted in the heads of departments informing the junior staff that Modibo Taal – the manager -- made a decision that staff should proceed on vacation for five months without salary until October 15, 2012 – this is the last straw that broke the camel’s back. It would be recalled that an online newspaper reported a letter supposedly written to President Jammeh by the staff of the hotel, alleging poor working conditions. Daily Observer was quoted as reporting: “A crisis broke out Thursday (exact date not confirmed) between the management and the junior staff of Sun Beach Hotel and Resort at Cape Point in Bakau, after the manager of the hotel, Modibo Taal, told 104 staff to go on vacation for five months without salary.” “The generator is faulty and the swimming pool sometimes has problems. The pool does not contain chlorine, that is why tourists are running away from the hotel,” Dembo Camara, the barkeeper, who has worked with the hotel for the past ten years, was quoted by the Daily Observer as saying. The Sun Beach Hotel started in 1971 under the name of Sunwing which was one of the Swedish Vingresor's portfolios. This changed in 1999 when Airtours, having acquired Vingresor, had it re-named. It was designed by Peter Gibbons and renovated in 1989. Sun Beach, located in the Cape Point, has some facilities such as a mini-market, craft market, a few small restaurants, exchange bureaus and a tourist market, within walking distance. Whilst the Atlantic Ocean and beaches have become major impetus for hotels in the country, Sun Beach Hotel has enjoyed lots of opportunities over the years, as it is situated in a hoteliers' ideal location, facing the Atlantic Ocean's beach and the river-mouth. Meanwhile, efforts to reach the manager were unsuccessful. However, when approached, the internal manager, Hamat Bah, said the issue “is an internal matter”, according to Daily Observer. Mr Tall has however denied the allegation of mistreating workers, describing it as untrue, false and misleading. “I spend my money and time just to keep them [the workers] at least for the season but what they are saying is totally wrong,” he said. “I work twice with the hotel but the shareholders are not contributing and I alone cannot operate the hotel,” he explained further, adding that he had even written to the shareholders about the situation of the hotel but there was no response. The only alternative is to close during off-season, which is something, he added, is un-peculiar to Sun Beach Hotel alone. He explains further: “What I said was since the hotel is not having customers, the staff should go for a voluntary leave. Some accepted and others did not. I personally reported the matter to the Labour Department to look into the matter to make sure that the staff rights are secured and protected.”