Hotels still receiving guests after MCO, says union

The National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers says no guests should have been allowed to check in after the movement control order took effect.

PETALING JAYA: The National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers claims some hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Penang have continued accepting guests despite the government’s 14-day movement control order (MCO), thus exposing employees there to the Covid-19 virus.

The union’s secretary-general Rosli Affandi said the employers had provided their workers with personal protective equipment but that he was unsure if this would be enough.

“The union urges hoteliers to stop accepting new guests and to spare our members the fear of being infected,” he told FMT.

Rosli said he had been told by union members that a number of hotels in the city and Tanjung Bungah in Penang are still allowing guests, including walk-in customers, to check in.

He said he had also heard of a group of Indonesians who were allowed to check into a hotel in Bukit Bintang for 14 days two days ago.

“Our understanding is that employees are needed to clean the rooms and serve the guests who checked in before March 18.

“No guests should have been allowed to check in after that period,” he said, acknowledging a government gazette on March 18 that included hotels and accommodations as essential services.

He said workers would be exposed to the infection as they had to clean the rooms and washrooms although guests would be asked to remain outside.

According to him, the union expects hotel, bar and restaurant workers to be badly hit, even after things normalise, as business would be down.

“Apart from our basic salary, which is low, these workers depend on the service charge of the usual 10% levied on customers’ bills as their take-home wages,” he said.

He said there are about 100,000 support staff in the industry although only about a tenth of these are union members. - FMT