All that glitters is not gold

Our sweat and all our hope that Labour Brokers will one day be banned from this democracy has vanished. We have all supported COSATU and millions of South Africans who have made this call to put an end to the Labour Brokers so as to save our exploited brother and sisters. People working under Labour Brokers are suffering incredible exploitation. We have no sense of security in the world. We are disrespected and humiliated every day.

We are employed by Progress CC in the Tsogo Sun formerly known as the Garden Court Holiday-Inn in Marine Parade on Durban’s beach front. Many of us have worked for more than seven, eight, nine and ten years without being registered with the Department of Labour or any Bargaining Council. There are more than 50 employees but only less than five are employed permanently. Here there is constant employment as constant firing is the order of the day. We earn R6 per room and are not paid per hour. There is no starting time and therefore no finishing time. We have to work overtime all the time but we are never paid for this time. There is no tea break or lunch hour. It is therefore taken as a crime to eat any time when you are hungry. We are not allowed to eat company food as this constitutes a dismissible crime.

We had joined several unions including the Hospitality, Industries & Allied Workers Union in 2007. In 2010 we had joined HEHAWU but we received no assistance or any improvements in these working conditions and so we left that union too. In 2011 we joined SATAWU and eventually we had to return back to the Hospitality, Industries & Allied Workers Union. We have paid and continue to pay a premium of up to R55 every month to these unions but we are paying for nothing. All of these unions take our money but they are not our unions – we do not decide what they will do and how they will do it. They are more like service providers that are failing to provide services. They are run on a top down basis.

The current union has tried to intervene but it has not succeeded. We are very concerned about the premium we are paying while not being able to give direction to the union from the bottom up or receiving any service. If we ask for a leave or time off for family responsibility then we are denied. We are not treated the same and equal. Some are better respected than the others. Those employed direct by the Tsogo Sun enjoy exclusive rights but we are the same and do the same jobs but we are treated so badly compared to them. They earn at least R19 per hour and not R6 per room as we do. Where is the truth in this company? Does this not constitute unlawful labour practice? We are forced to pay between R200 to R300 for the work uniform by our employer. Sometimes when we complain our manager tells us that we will be like workers of Marikana whose union failed to protect them and ended up shot. Sometimes she tells us that we have no children but work just for men or boyfriends.

We know that each guest pays up to R1300 per night every day while we get only R6 per room. This is not fair on us. The UIF money is always deducted but I do not think it reaches the Department of Labour as we are not registered with them either. Our pay slips are our disgrace as people see it as a joke as you will be confronted with many questions if we try to use it. We used to participate with great energy in our numbers in marches to end labour brokers organized by COSATU under the leadership of Vavi but today that hope has come to an end. We call upon the ANC lead government and the people of South Africa to protect workers in this famous hotel. But we also call upon Tsogo Sun guests to help us by supporting our demand for just and fair working conditions and salaries.

In the meantime we have decided to organize ourselves for ourselves in solidarity with our comrades in Abahlali baseMjondolo.