Guests at the Hilton Trinidad were google-eyed Friday as members of several trade unions walked through the hotel, chanting union slogans and calling for the removal of general manager, Barbadian Leroy Browne.
The action, which began shortly after 12 noon, saw members of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the Steel Workers Union, the Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) and the National Union of Domestic Employees walking past the security guards at the hotel’s entrance and entering the lobby.
Once there, they began to tell guests seated in the lobby about the conditions in which the workers were forced to operate, as well as the alleged health and safety violations at the facility.
Speaking to reporters at the entrance to the hotel, CWU’s Secretary General Joseph Remy said a member of staff, who is also an executive branch officer of the union, was presented with a disciplinary letter on Wednesday. He said this worker had now joined three others—two supervisors and another branch office—who had been fired and suspended respectively.
Two weeks ago, the CWU staged a placard protest outside the hotel’s entrance to highlight the unacceptable conditions and Browne’s refusal to meet with the union to discuss the matter. Remy has accused Browne of acting in an arrogant manner with both the employees and the union.
He produced a copy of a letter sent to Minister of Trade, Investment and Communication, Vasant Bharath on October 8 in which he appealed for the minister to intervene in the matter and to revoke Browne’s work permit.