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International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,
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Date updated : 05-Feb-2015

Status: closed

© 2025 IUF

Brutal rights abuses at upscale Sheraton hotels

Sheraton hotels and resorts are part of the Starwood Group, whose other brands include Westin, St. Regis, Méridien, W Hotels and the Luxury Collection. Starwood calls them "distinct lifestyle brands" - upscale accommodations for affluent travelers and vacationers. But brutal violations of the human rights of the company's employees can be part of that distinct lifestyle. Recently, workers at Sheraton hotels in Ethiopia and Maldives sought to exercise a basic human right: negotiate through their unions their employment terms and conditions. They got Sheraton management's full service abuse treatment - brutal mass dismissals and intimidation.

In April last year, the legally-recognized union representing workers at the Sheraton Addis Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia began negotiations to renew their collective agreement, with technical assistance from the government Arbitration Board. Negotiations were proceeding for a number of sessions in what the Board called "good understanding" - until the hotel management abruptly and unilaterally withdrew from the process and issued termination letters to 65 employees, all of them union members, including the negotiators agreed to by management and the union's officers. Management then declared it was unwilling to negotiate with employees whose contracts had been terminated! Sheraton/Starwood license the brand and manage the hotel for owner Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, a Saudi Arabian billionaire described by Forbes as the largest single investor in Ethiopia.

Since the IUF-affiliated TEAM recruited a majority of workers at the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa in February last year, management refused to formally recognize the union or meet with the union committee and initiated disciplinary proceedings against the union secretary. On April 19, 2014, the union sent a written request to management to discuss the unjust treatment of their union secretary. They received no response, and gathered in their staff area to protest. On May 14, off-duty union members went to the General Manager's office to request a meeting, found the office empty, and peacefully awaited his return. Police arrived, began questioning union leaders and then issued orders to clear the premises. The following day, May 15, the union President, Secretary and an executive member were issued disciplinary letters accusing them of unlawful assembly and illegally displaying union banners in the staff area on… April 19! That evening they were issued termination letters in the presence of police.

Since then, a total of ten union leaders have been terminated and more than one hundred members have received the same disciplinary letter. Since the resort is a private island, union officers cannot set foot to meet with members without violating trespass laws.

In Ethiopia and Maldives, Sheraton management is trying to eliminate trade unions with brutal methods designed to inspire fear: disciplinings, intimidation, mass dismissals. The workers want to return to their jobs - with their union rights secured. Starwood refuses to talk with the unions or respond to communication from the IUF.

Shame on Sheraton! - use the form below to send a message to corporate Starwood management telling them to clean up their act, respect union rights and talk to the IUF.