Strike at Golden Peacock hotel: Local staff accuse management of ‘bringing Beijing into Malawi’

Local staff at Chinese run hotel in the Capital City, Lilongwe have downed their tools, asking for paying hike and accusing the management of abuse.

Staff at Golden Peacock or Segcoa, an upmarket hotel at the city centre, say they will not allow management to bring ‘Beijing’ into Malawi.

Golden Peacock assistant marketing manager Malumbo Kondowe said the staff had engaged the management on several occasions on the issues to no avail.

“At one meeting, a supervisor asked for his pay rise. Instead of receiving the pay rise, he was shocked to get a demotion letter. He is now a mere waiter,” said Kondowe.

Kondowe said the salaries are very pathetic with some of the staff getting as low as K7, 000 a month, no leave grant and there are 23 Chinese expatriates at the hotel, taking up jobs that can well be done by Malawians.

He gave an example of a marketing manager and human resources manager whom he said hardly speaks English.

“They can hardly communicate with anyone in English (Malawi’s official language) yet they are here, doing what? What is the Immigration doing?” wondered Kondowe.

He said the hotel management also flatly refuses to offer transport in times of bereavement.

In addition, Kondowe said, staff are subjected to bad food when on duty, claiming they are given beans without tomato on daily basis.

All the local staff on Friday got out of their working places and gathered outside carrying placards to the surprise of guests who did not understand what was going on.

Management said they would address the issues at a meeting the management and staff were to hold jointly.

Gokden Peacock Hotel has 247 rooms