Workers of the Sofitel Hotel held a protest on Monday, June 3, to contest the termination of its workers due to the hotel’s closure. Over a thousand hotel workers are facing immediate termination from their jobs by July 1 after management decided to renovate the facilities, citing the building’s unsafe conditions. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA -- Several workers of Sofitel Philippine Plaza, who will soon be displaced after its closure by the end of the month, are urging the management to respect their rights and retain their jobs.

Sofitel Philippine Plaza to close by July

In a press conference of the National Union of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant, and Allied Industries (NUWHRAIN) on Monday morning, the group argued that the alleged closure is a way to dissolve the union. 

The group added that they believe Sofitel would soon reopen after renovations. 

Arnold Bautista, who works for Sofitel, said he has been hearing about talks of renovation. It has also been extremely painful for him to lose his job. 

"Matagal na po naming naririnig ang renovation, last year pa po yan, kasi nagsubmit na kami ng proposal for CBA, napag-uusapan na po yan," Bautista said. 

(We have heard about the renovation for a long time, as early as last year. We have submitted proposal for CBA, they have been talking about it.) 

Bautista recalled that their management called for a meeting last May 7 to announce the closure of the hotel. 

"Ikinagulat po ng manggagawa ang kanilang binitawang salita, bagamat opinyon ng unyon, hindi po ito pagsasara, kundi renovation lang po," he said. 

(Workers were caught by surprise with their announcement of closure. But the union opines that this isn't closure, just a renovation.) 

A day after, on May 8, the management issued termination letters to their employees. 

"Ito lamang po ang pinagkukuhanan namin ng aming buhay po pang-araw araw. Napakasakit po na ibinigay namin ang aming buhay dito, bigla na lang po kaming tatanggalin ng ganun ganon na lang po. Masakit po sa amin yun," Bautista said. 

(This is our only livelihood. It's so painful for us because we have sacrificed a lot for this then we'll be terminated just like that.) 

"Sa ngayon po, ang dami pong namomoroblema, may mga pamilya na may apat na anak, kumuha pa ng mga bahay, so yun ang pinoproblema nila. Napakabigat po sa aming damdamin ang mga nangyayari," he added. 

(Right now, employees are fearing how to feed their children, they were paying for housing, it's so heavy.) 

The NUWHRAIN says Sofitel currently employs around 500 regular workers, and more than a thousand contractual workers. 

The group estimates over a thousand jobs will be lost, not just in the hotel proper, but also other entities like the famous Spiral buffet inside its premises. 

The union says instead of terminating all the jobs, the management should instead retain them until they open after the supposed renovation. 

Nestor Cabada, a worker of Sofitel, said he's been working for the hotel before it opened to the public on 1976. 

"Tingin namin, dahil nagkaroon sila ng chance para yung union ay mawala. Tatanggalin mo lahat ng empleyado, therefore, wala na. Samin po, hanggang may natitirang isa samin, ilalaban po namin ito," Cabada said. 

The union said they are encouraging workers not to accept their separation pay just yet because they wanted to continue the fight for their jobs. 

However, they would understand if some of the staff would already receive pay out of fear that they'd lose money for their families. 

The union is calling on GSIS, who owns the lot where the hotel stands, to side with the soon-to-be-displaced workers. 

Sofitel has a lease contract from GSIS until 2041, which means they still have the rights to stay in the lot and operate for the next 17 years. 

The hotel earlier announced that it would stop operations by July 1, 2024. 

Sofitel is owned by the Philippine Plaza Holdings Incorporated, and managed by the international ACCOR Hotel Group. 

The union workers said they have filed a notice of strike, which may happen sometime this month.

SOFITEL RESPONDS 

In an email to ABS-CBN News, Steve Pena Sy, President of Philippine Plaza Holdings, Inc, owner of Sofitel Philippines, said that it was a painful decision for them to cease hotel operations by the end of the month. 

He cited safety as the only factor for closing down Sofitel. 

"The hotel is 50 years old and many incidents happened in recent years. We even had to evacuate all our hotel guests in September last year," he said.

"We engaged independent and internationally-renowned safety consultancy firms to conduct safety audits and they advised us the hotel is not safe for operations," he added. 

He denied the allegations made by the union. 

"The allegation that closing down the hotel is an act of 'union busting' is a fallacy. If the hotel wanted to bust the unions, it should have done so during the pandemic time," Sy told ABSCBN News. 

"During the COVID days, Sofitel did not lay off any single employee, but continued to give the workers all their benefits despite the fact that the hotel was losing money," he added. 

In addition, Sy said that the group has been doing well in business. 

"Sofitel is doing very well in business since last year. During the first quarter of this year, the hotel had a room occupancy rate of 86 percent and the restaurant was always full. No investor in sane mind will close down the business at this time if it not because of safety concerns," he said. 

"The hotel owners and management try their best to protect the wellbeing of the workers. All employees are provided with a separation package better than what is provided by the Labor Code and even better than what the CBA of the unions dictated," he added.
Sy said they are holding job fairs to help displaced workers get new jobs.