Workers employed at the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross, county Monaghan, have voted to refer all their outstanding issues with their employer, with whom they have had no contact since 1st January, to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). At a general meeting of SIPTU members on Wednesday (1st March), it was decided to a refer all issues to the WRC in a dispute related to a “sham” layoff process. The hotel management said that it closed the hotel before Christmas for refurbishment purposes but no such work has commenced. SIPTU Organiser, Claire O’Connor, said: “In total, our members have been denied their employment rights under five pieces of workers’ rights legislation. These are the Payment of Wages Act, Organisation of Working Time Act, Employee Terms of Employment Act, the Redundancy Act and Minimum Notice Act.” She added: “The hotel owner, Mr Kai Dai, has not been contactable. The first priority is to get Mr Dai to pay all outstanding monies owed to the workers. He must meet his responsibilities to these loyal employees.” Nuremore Hotel worker, Liga Kondrate, said: “After many years working at the hotel, I never thought that I and my colleagues would end up being treated as we have been. That we would end up having to fight for our legal rights. It is shameful that none of the management or Mr Dai has attempted to communicate with us with the aim of resolving the current situation.” SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Regan, said: “Our members have now suffered sixty one days of a sham lay off situation with still no refurbishment in sight. When is the Government going to step in to deal with this deplorable treatment of decent workers.” He added: “The Government could assist legally by making an application to the company insolvency fund through which the workers could be paid for the financial losses, in terms of the non-payment of holiday pay, wages and redundancy entitlements, which they have accrued before and after their period of lay-off commenced on 1st January. “We believe this could be done by the Government while it maintains its right to pursue Mr Kia Dai in relation to reimbursing the State for these costs.”
Nuremore Hotel workers refer outstanding issues with absentee employer to WRC
