About 9,000 employees of hotels and guests houses which operate under the umbrella of the Ghana Progressive Hoteliers Association (GPHA) have been laid off because of the lack of patronage of the facilities.
The development is as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many of the facilities to shut down completely or operate at minimal capacity.
The National President of the association, Mr Charles Adu-Gyamfi, who made this known, explained that the GPHA, which has a membership of 400, employed about 12,000 workers before the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic last Wednesday when the association donated food and items such as Veronica buckets, sanitary items and towels to the Hanukkah Children’s Home at Baakoniaba, near Sunyani, he said: “As I speak now, about 9,000 of such employees have been laid off, since we are operating way below our capacities.”
Citing a personal example, he said: “Even though I operate a hotel with 80 rooms, I am currently not getting more than two guests per night.”
“How can I continue to engage all my employees and pay them from my pocket?” he asked rhetorically.
Donation
The items donated to the Hanukkah Children’s Home and three others were estimated at GH¢10,000.
Graphic