Hotel Worker: We are Put on Unpaid Leave, Now We Don't Even Have Money for Shopping

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"As we couldn't receive the March salary, we were also put on unpaid leave. The son and daughter of the boss are said to decide whether our salaries will be paid or not," says Yusuf (not his real name), an employee of the Green Park Hotel in Taksim, İstanbul.

Yusuf is one of the thousands of employees who were put on unpaid leave during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The hotel also dismissed some of its employees and partly paid their severance after mediation

"Having a meeting with us, the hotel management imposed unpaid leave. I have been on unpaid leave since March 22. When we call the hotel, we can't find anyone to speak to.

"There are curfews and we don't even have money for shopping. This is the same for all employees.

"Whereas, our salaries are nothing compared with the wealth of our boss. Our boss, who has nine hotels, has a hotel in London, does construction business, doesn't pay our salaries on the excuse of coronavirus.

"To keep the hotel open, the business is done with five-people shifts in the day and four-people shifts at night. Although they pay for transportation, our working colleagues are also aggrieved now.

"We only have my mother's pension"

"There were about 45 people working at the hotel and everyone is in the same situation. They applied for a short-time work allowance, but there has been no result yet.

"When I called the accountant for salaries a few days ago, he said that 'The headquarters will handle it.' But we have learned that the boss's son and daughter will have a talk and decide. Is the remuneration of my labor between the two lips of the boss's son and daughter now?

"My mother and father are separated. My elder brother, my mother and I live together. My mother has a salary of 700-800 lira [~100 US dollars], which was left from her father.

"I don't have a single penny in my pocket right now. I am at home without money for days. We don't know what to do."

The Green Park Hotel staff confirmed the events to bianet in a phone call but did not make a further statement. They said they would convey the issue to their superiors. (HA/VK)