Workers at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra demonstrating in front of the hotel

Workers of Golden Beach Hotels want CEO out

Emelia Ennin Abbey & Shirley Asiedu-Addo Oct - 02 - 2018 , 11:52 2 minutes read

Some workers of the Golden Beach Hotels in Accra and Elmina yesterday staged protests, demanding the immediate removal of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.

The workers accused the CEO, Ms Abena Boatey Amoah, of running down the company since she assumed the position 10 years ago.

La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, Elmina Beach Resort in the Central Region and Busua Beach Resort in the Western Region, constitute the Golden Beach Hotels.

Protest

At the La Palm Royal Beach in Accra, the workers wore red arm bands and carried placards with inscriptions such as “Respect workers’ rights Madam CEO/MD/GM, Enough of the victimisation and gross vindictiveness, “Your utterances and attitude on issues of labour are negatively affecting productivity, Madam Abena Pokua, you cannot arbitrarily run the hotel on your own whims and caprices and Madam know it all, we are tired of your lies.”

A similar protest took place on the premises of the Elmina Beach Resort where the workers also carried similar placards.

Petition

A petition containing the concerns of the workers titled, “Impropriety of the managing director,” was addressed to the Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), owner of the hotels, and copied to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the board of directors of SSNIT.

They accused the MD of unlawfully re-designating permanent employees as part-time workers.

It said that action was unprofessional and a clear violation of the affected employees’ fundamental human rights.

The workers alleged that Ms Amoah’s relationship with them regarding issues of labour, her utterances and attitude towards them was affecting the productivity and profitability of the company.

“A number of workers, including the Human Resource Manager of La Palm, have been victimised by way of transfers to the Elmina Beach Resort Hotel and Busua Beach Resort Hotel,” the workers said in the petition.

Efforts to reach Ms Amoah for her comments were unsuccessful but an official of La Palm, who did not want to be named, told the Daily Graphic, that the workers’ protest was illegal, because the police and management of the company were not informed.

He said the appointing authority was locked up in a crunch meeting with stakeholders and would meet the workers after the meeting.
Some workers were, however, at post to provide essential services to clients.