THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM a worker in the hotel industry and I am frustrated by the policies which most properties have now adopted. Consider the following situation.
You are a worker and was offered a tip by a "disguised guest", one set up by management, who mislead workers who accept these tips only later to discover that they are fired for this scam. In this economy, who is going to refuse money? Certainly not a worker getting only $3,000 a week.
On other occasions, some workers don't even have money to go home; the staff bus is not working. It is a modern-day plantation to work in the hotel industry. You are always expected to give so much and get so little in return.
Sometimes, workers work overtime for six days only to find out at the end of the week that these guests were complimentary, meaning they are not paying.
I hereby call on the Minister of Tourism and the leading hotel owners to get your act together; not only to sell the country's image but to protect the rights of the workers.
After all, without us the industry is nothing. Don't forget your greatest asset.
I am etc.,
PATRICK WILLIAMS
Annotto Bay, St. Mary
Via Go-Jamaica
