Loyal staff find themselves out of pocket
Employees have not been paid from September up until their 'contracts' came to an end in January.
Every employee at Dundee’s landmark Royal Country Inn lost their job two weeks ago, after it was alleged that attempts were made to poison guests.
Among them are members of staff who devoted more than 20 years to serving patrons.
One, Nora Simons, recently notched up 40 years of service and has been awarded with a prestigious Rotary Club vocational award for her dedication.
However, Hotel Manager, Bonisiwe Sikhakhane, denied staff were fired because they poisoned someone.
“If they had, the relevant authorities would have been involved and there would have been a criminal case. Get your facts straight,” she said. “They were not fired. Their contracts came to an end and I chose not to renew their contracts. I took this decision due to the breach of trust between employer and employee, when some of them threatened to poison guests because they were not paid. I could not take a chance after they made that threat.”
Chairman of Dundee Tourism, Naresh Gopie, called the allegation ‘ludicrous’, saying he couldn’t believe experienced, loyal staff would risk their livelihoods by poisoning guests.
If that were the case, I would have been dead long ago,” said Mr Gopie. “I rubbish that allegation. The staff are totally innocent.”
Employees have not been paid from September up until their ‘contracts’ came to an end in January.
Suspension letters handed to employees in December, however, accuse them of ‘gross misconduct in [that] sabotage of the hotel operations, unlawful or intentional administering of harmful substance to another person, incitement and for some being accomplice to certain of the aforehand allegations…’
Established in 1886, the Royal Country Inn is an internationally acclaimed historical landmark at the heart of KwaZulu-Natal’s Battlefields Route…
But, like other businesses taken over by the infamous de Beer family, (the de Beers have been in the news for their alleged Ponzi scheme, Coin-It, which investors said left them out of pocket), the reputational damage it has suffered since threatened not only the future of the iconic tourist attraction, but the town’s economy as well.
“What I see today is something that is so ‘big’ for Dundee suffering a silent death. It has caused huge collateral damage in the entire tourism industry. Our monthly statistics are showing a tremendous decline in tourism activity already, and it is worrying,” warned Mr Gopie. “The Royal is a landmark international tourists can identify with.”
Mr Gopie said he heard how the Royal’s staff were treated, and that they had not been paid for several months, from other establishments where they were now seeking work.
Nokuthula Miya, who waitressed at the Royal for 12 years, is most bothered by the fact that she never received feedback on the investigation which took place after the employees were suspended.
In fact, she was doubtful there was an investigation.
“Your suspension does not assume any guilt, and you will be fully paid until further notice,” read the suspension letters staff received. “When our investigation is complete, we will contact you to outline our findings. Should we deem you innocent, you will return to work immediately, however if we consider the need for disciplinary action you will be advised accordingly.”
Nokuthula said: “When they suspended us, management told us they would call us one by one to interview us, but that never happened. Instead, they called us on January 18 and told us they didn’t want to renew our contracts. In the 12 years I worked at the Royal, I had never received so much as a verbal warning. I used to think of the other staff, the management and the previous owners, the Bezuidenhouts (who sold the hotel in 2018 after running it for over 20 years) , as family. After losing my job, we are depending on my mother’s pension to support the family. My mother is trying to make sure my three children and I are fed, but it is difficult, and now I have such a bad name in the shops because I can’t pay the installments.”
Khanyi Zulu, whose job it was to clean the linen, said she supported 10 family members with her income.”
“They stopped paying us in September, but we continued to work until December when we were all suspended.
“They called on security to escort us off the property, saying we poisoned customers. Hearing that allegation was very painful to me. It made me angry.
“I asked them who would represent us during the investigation and never got an answer. My children don’t have food. They don’t have uniforms for school. I don’t know why they are doing this to us. I have lost hope,” said Khanyi.
Staff are now struggling to obtain the relevant forms to claim UIF, and fear that it is possible their contributions were not being paid to the South African Revenue Services by the de Beers.
When contacted for clarity, attorney for the de Beers, Melo Shabangu, declined to comment, saying he was ‘just an attorney who billed for his time, the same way Caxton charged for its newspapers’.
Spokesperson for the Department of Labour, Teboho Thejane asked that the matter be referred to the Provincial Chief Director for further investigation.
“When it comes to employees being laid off, they should not have to suffer the consequences of their employers,” he stated.
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