Senior Reporter
Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) secretary general Joanne Ogeer has sounded an alarm that 300 workers at Trinidad Hilton are likely to be displaced if the international franchise decides to leave the country.
However, in a swift counter yesterday, Land and Legal Affairs Minister Saddam Hosein has denied there will be any impending layoffs, firmly rejecting the union’s claims.
However, he steered clear of answering any question on the future of the 62-year-old hotel.
“I can tell you at this point in time that the arrangements we have made are not affecting the workers. So I want to put the workers’ part at ease … that the workers are not affected.”
Hosein was given oversight of the State-owned Evolving Technologies and Enterprise Development Company Ltd (eTeck), which owns the Trinidad Hilton and property on behalf of the State.
eTeck had previously fallen under the remit of Trade, Investment and Tourism, led by Satyakama Maharaj.
“The Trinidad and Tobago Government continues to negotiate with Hilton in good faith to ensure that we have a reasonable arrangement between them, especially in terms of upgrades and infrastructure works that has to be done at the hotel,” he said.
Hosein said the previous People’s National Movement administration left the relationship between T&T and Hilton in a “state of mess and flux” before they demitted office last April, “especially in terms of the infrastructural works and upgrade to the particular hotel…and also the leasing arrangement that is currently between Hilton and eTeck.”
Under the current Government, Hosein said they had “had to clean up the mess that they (PNM) left for us. The first thing we had to do was in fact extend the leasing arrangement with the Hilton and eTeck in order to preserve the relationship between both entities and also to ensure that the hotel’s operations did not shut down.”
Hosein said Hilton has managed to keep its doors open due to Government’s efforts.
“There are negotiations between Hilton and eTeck that are actively ongoing. Certain decisions have already been made in terms of agreements and so on. There are a couple of outstanding matters that I cannot tell you right now because of the commercial implications involved.”
In March, the Port-of-Spain based hotel had asked the Government for a three-month extension to operate while both sides attempted to reach a long-term agreement.
A final decision on whether the hotel’s brand would remain was anticipated by July 16. This period has now been extended to August 16 with the additional one- month extension.
During a media conference in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday, Ogeer called on Trinidad Hilton and the Government to come clean with its 300 workers, after the hotel asked for an additional one-month extension for the continued use of its brand that same day.
Joined by 60 hotel workers at the media conference, Ogeer also called for transparency and answers.
“If the hotel is to be closed, let the management of the hotel know. Have a conversation with them so they could have a conversation with the union and we could do our due diligence to inform these workers about their severance benefits. We need transparency, we need the truth. Workers cannot go on for one month again, living, paying their bills, sustaining their families on extensions.”
Ogeer said the union received an 11.31 am email from the hotel seeking the 30-day extension, citing that they were still in talks with the Government. The letter was emailed to the union by Hilton’s general manager Oliver Maumaire.
“They seem to know that, listen, at the 16th of August, as the extension will now be, the hotel may well close down. And all we are saying is just let us know the trajectory of the thought so that we would be able to say, ok, that is the case and we would be able to prepare the workers and not have them in limbo. Some of these workers have as much as 40 years’ service with Hilton.”
In March, international hotelier Trinidad Hilton was preparing to withdraw its brand from the State-owned property after the Government failed to undertake extensive capital upgrades-estimated to be over US$600,000-required to maintain the facility to international operating standards according to lease agreements, registered records, procurement documents, union correspondence and industry analysis reviewed by Guardian Media’s Investigations Desk.
The following month, Trinidad Hilton agreed to a three-month extension for the continued use of its brand while discussions on the hotel’s future with the Government-owned entity remain ongoing.
On Wednesday, Ogeer had appealed to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar not to ignore the hotel workers.
“These signs are a clear message to the Prime Minister, as you are now fondly called the mother of the nation. Stop acting like the bad mother-in-law, because we have good mother-in-laws. Workers at the Trinidad Hilton cannot continue to pay their bills on extensions and hope.”
Longstanding issue
Under former CWU secretary general Clyde Elder, Ogeer said the union wrote several letters to the then People’s National Movement government about renovations at the hotel.
Elder now holds the position as Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities of Persad-Bissessar’s government.
“This didn’t start now. What the Trinidad Hilton continued to do then and now…is one story…one line..one anthem…we don’t know anything.”
Ogeer called on the PM to say where the money allocated to renovate the hotel has gone.
“Because we heard that monies were allocated for this renovation,” Ogeer said.
She also asked if Government is contemplating the creation of a new operating entity.
“We are also asking questions on probably potential sale or lease arrangements. Is the Government seeking a buyer? Has a valuation on the hotel been completed and what is the current value of the asset? Will a prospective buyer now be obligated to retain existing employees?”
