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Many a jobless youth would kill to work in a tourist hotel. But what they would never guess is that the workers who prepare and serve exquisite cuisines and spruce up Sh30,000 a night honeymoon suites are underpaid, poorly fed, overworked and oppressed.
Beneath the glitter, opulence and sophistication, are frustrated workers who must suck up to snooty guests and can barely make ends meet, besides the risk of getting fired over the flimsiest of excuses. Most hotel workers earn between Sh10,000 and Sh26,000 per month. And those are the lucky ones.
For almost one year, *Olelapaa chased away monkeys wandering in one of the many five-star establishments dotting the scenic Maasai Mara Game Reserve. But his salary for the services offered in the whole of 2015 was food! When a union demanded an explanation over the apparent exploitation, the management of the high-end hotel denied any knowledge of *Olelapaa, whose identity has been protected to avoid obvious backlash from the employer, who recently put him on the payroll following pressure from the Kenya Hotel and Allied Workers (KHAWU).
Olelapaa’s case is not unique. According to the union, most employees in five-star hotels are underpaid, mistreated and overtaxed, leaving them vulnerable to temptations like theft, openly soliciting for bribes or giving preferential services to some guests based on colour. Some even collaborate with clients to commit crimes.
“You have heard cases of a guest collapsing due to poisoning. You cannot rule out the involvement of some staff who get paid handsomely to lace a drink or meal with poisonous substances,” said a hotelier, adding that most of the smartly dressed staffers are a frustrated lot, smiling faces notwithstanding.
The poorly paid doorman, porter or receptionist is expected, according to the job description, to treat guests with an unwavering sense of priority and pay attention to detail. Yet, despite serving clientele that include VIPs, business moguls and celebrities, many of them lead deplorable lifestyles.
“Hotel workers in these big hotels are the most mistreated. From their meagre tips getting taxed, to being denied some basic rights, these employees live in squalor due to poor pay,” laments Wycliffe Sava, KHAWU deputy secretary general.
Jane Munyua, a receptionist at a Nairobi hotel was summarily dismissed in September 2014 for allegedly being rude to a client.
Her dismissal letter read: “During a meeting with you, your immediate superiors in the department and the union representative in the meeting room on September 24, this matter was discussed, and you did not have any good reason as to why you were rude to the guests, contrary to rule number 3”. The rule demands that employees should endeavour to conduct themselves politely and respectfully.
But KHAWU maintains that Munyua was dismissed on account of emails sent by the guest to the managing director.
“Instead of establishing the facts, he (MD) instantly replied the same mail by assuring the accuser that the said employee would be identified for summary dismissal,” claimed one of the employees.
When a female employee at a hotel along Mombasa Road got injured at her place of work, the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH) recommended that she be paid Sh234,542 as workman’s compensation. But the employer, through an insurance firm, demanded the claimant to undergo a second medical examination that led to a paltry award of Sh47,508.
The lower cadre is the hardest hit. Those who attempt to join a union are either deliberately frustrated or sacked on flimsy grounds.
This group comprise gardeners, messengers, cleaners, porters, room stewards, security guards, pool attendants, laundry attendants, waiters, laundry operators, junior clerks, drivers, doormen, laundry clerks, massage ladies, animators, restaurant hostesses, copy typists, artisans, pool supervisors, storekeepers, guest relations officers, cooks, receptionists, reservation clerks and barmen.
Their entitled service charge is subjected to a 16 per cent VAT. The service charge, informally known as tip, is the amount added to a client’s bill in a restaurant to pay for the work of the person who serves him or her. Normally, the service charge is pooled into a kitty and distributed evenly to all employees at the end of the month. The union has gone to court to stop employers from taxing their service charge, arguing guests are already invoiced and taxed for the services offered.
Some hotels allegedly prevent employees from answering calls of nature when pressed, as well as denying those on night shift any sort of accommodation. Claims of feeding employees on sub-standard meals were also raised. “After recruitment, you victimise our members by subjecting them to unfair labour practices such as wrongful suspensions, unnecessary lockouts from duty without proper communication, intimidation, threats and unnecessary transfer,” states a letter from KHAWU addressed to one of the hotels.
The union cites 10 cases of employees allegedly mistreated at their respective work stations. The cases involve 17 workers who were either locked out of duty, transferred or suspended without proper explanation.
Most five-star hotels in Kenya are highly rated. But the rating has been criticised by industry players who argue that the exercise is overly complex.
Hotel ratings are used to classify hotels according to their quality. In five-star hotels, guests will enjoy an extensive range of facilities and comprehensive or highly personalised services. Properties at this level will display excellent design quality and attention to detail.
“The rating is done on quality of facilities in a hotel. Rating has never been done on the quality of the staff working for that hotel. As a union, we propose the welfare of staff must be included in the rating system,” suggested Sava.
