DOLE seeks clarification on Sofitel closure

MANILA -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday said it would clarify with the management of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila whether its looming closure will be for good or temporary.

This followed allegations from soon-to-be terminated hotel employees that the hotel will only undergo renovations, and that the supposed closure is just a way to dissolve the workers’ union.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma told ABS-CBN News that his agency, through the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), was conducting hearings with representatives of the hotel and the employees.

“Kasama yan doon sa dapat na maging categorically lumutang at maipaabot ng management. Ano ba talaga ang pakay o ano talaga ang layunin nung kanilang paghahain ng closure?” said Laguesma.

The hotel earlier announced that it will stop operations by July 1, citing safety concerns that could threaten the lives of guests and employees.

In a statement sent to ABS-CBN News, it also dismissed accusations of union busting. 

But Laguesma said it should also state what happens next after it addresses, or should it address, those safety issues, especially since this would have implications on their employees. 

“Kung ito ba ay pagsasara upang i-address lamang yung mga safety issues at kung matugunan na, maisaayos lahat, magbubukas bang muli? At ano ang magiging kahinatnan ng ating mga manggagawa?” he said. 

“Kung sasabihin mo na pahintuin muna ang trabaho at hindi mo bigyan ng benepisyo mga manggagawa, saan naman kukuha ng ikabubuhay ang ating mga manggagawa? So may mga balancing na dapat gawin yan,” added Laguesma.

(If they are closing down to address safety issues, will you reopen once these have been addressed? And what will happen to the workers? If you say that you will stop them from working and not give them benefits, where will they get their livelihood from? So there has to be a balancing act.)

Members of the National Union of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant, and Allied Industries (NUWHRAIN) staged a quick but tension-filled protest outside Sofitel on Wednesday morning.

Security officers initially tried to prevent the labor group from protesting, resulting in at least one physical altercation. They even confiscated some protest paraphernalia. But they eventually relented as the rallyists moved to the street, which is no longer covered by hotel premises.

The unionists claimed that while Philippine Plaza Holdings, Inc (PPHI), the owner of Sofitel Philippines, has not explicitly declared a temporary closure, there are pieces of evidence that point to such a plan such as supposed ongoing renovations and acquisition of new equipment.

“Kakaayos lang nila nung wall dito sa may baywalk. At ang dami pong bagong renovated facilities. Imagine, yung bagong elevator ay kadarating lang at ready nang iinstall,” said NUWHRAIN Deputy Secretary General Marco Gohol.

“Napakarami pong mga bagong equipment ng Sofitel: bagong kama, bagong TV, bagong carpet, bagong mesa. So kung negosyante ka, hindi mo naman talaga isasara yung negosyo mo?” he added.

(They just fixed a wall near the baywalk. And there are so many new renoated facilities. Imagine, the new elevator has arrived and is ready to be installed. Sofitel has so many new equipment: new beds, new TVs, new carpets, new tables. So if you're a businessmen, you won't really close down your business?)

According to Gohol, the hotel employees’ union is willing to keep talking with Sofitel management and PPHI to work out a win-win solution that does not involve their termination. But he said their offers have so been ignored. 

“Willing kami maghintay habang kayo ay nagre-renovate. Habang nakasarado kayo, hindi kayo kumikita. Therefore we are willing to suspend yung economic benefits para sa mga empleyado,” he said.

(We are willing to wait while they are renovating. While you are closed, you don't earn money. Therefore we are willing to suspend economic benefits for the employees.)

In case of a change in hotel management, NUWHRAIN also appealed to PPHI President Steve Pena Sy to still rehire their workers.

“Magkaroon po tayo ng kasunduan na pag nagbukas kayo ay kami pa rin ang kukunin ninyo bilang empleyado ng Sofitel. Kung hindi na kayo ang magiging may-ari then mag-usap ulit tayo, baka naman pwede tayong magtulungan na kausapin yung bibili ng negosyo na yan,” said Gohol.

(We want to make a deal with them so they can take us back when Sofitel reopens. If you will no longer be the owner then let us please talk again, maybe we can speak to whomever will acquire the business.)

The group hopes that the DOLE and the Department of Tourism will intervene in the case, considering that there is only less than a month to go before the July 1 closure which will displace over a thousand employees.

Laguesma said he is leaving the discussion up to the NCMB for now, but promised that they are conducting timely hearings.

“Sensitive at mindful sila sa panahon at hindi naman nila hinahayaan yan na matagal ang pagkakaroon ng schedule. Antimano yan,” he said.

(They are sensitive and mindful, and they are not delaying the process. That is guaranteed.)

Laguesma hopes that through the hearings, both parties would be able to reach a mutually beneficial solution.

In an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Pena Sy emphasized that they are closing the hotel purely due to safety reasons.

"In the last 2 years, sobrang marami ang mga insidente, there were so many, even last year, there were how many? A hundred plus times yung mga fire alarm, yung mga electric fires," he said.

"I want to make it very very clear that if we want to bust the union, we should have done that during the COVID times the pandemic times. During those two years, maraming hotel sarado eh. Davao, you have Marco Polo sarado, Manila you have Makati Shangri-la sarado. How come we did not close? We did not even lay off one single staff member," he added.

He also said that they are uncertain as to the future of their business, since they own the building but not the land it stands on.

"And to totally revamp, to repair the hotel, it would take really a lot of investments, to make it competitive again, it would take a lot of investments. Now the owners are thinking, can we get back? ‘Cause the lease term (is) expiring. Can we get back our investment within this period of time? They are still computing," he explained.

"We are trying to talk to the landowner...but until now we have not reached any agreement," he said.