Tourism companies and workers in Inhambane

 Unlike tourist establishments, Hotel Baía Mar in Vilankulo decided to keep its doors open despite the crisis, but only at a cost – the hotel had to lay off much of its workforce and was left with only 30 of its previous 80 workers.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel had a satisfactory flow of tourists, and had invested in new rooms and hired personnel to satisfy demand.

But since the end of February, more than 200 reservations have  cancelled. Some of these were rescheduled for next year, but the hotel had to reimburse many customers.In order to survive, the company reached an agreement with the workers cutting the wages of those still working, but the situation is getting worse every day. Suzana Vidal says that the outlook is bleak, since there is no business, nor any concrete support from the government.

Jeremias, one of thousands without a job

‘O País’ spoke to Jeremias Júnior, one of the thousands of workers left without a job. The company he worked for decided to terminate his contract, but failed to pay any compensation.

He and other workers were presented with two proposals. The first was termination of contract with one year’s compensation but with a commitment, that as soon as the crisis passed, he would be reinstated if there was a need for additional manpower. The other proposal was definitive termination of contract without any subsequent commitment, but with all rights guaranteed. This was the option chosen by Jeremias, but he has so far come out empty-handed, since the company does not yet have the money to pay him. In order to survive, Jeremias has had to spend the savings he spent years building up. Now even his savings are running out, and he doesn’t know what July will be like. Jeremias will only receive the first instalment of compensation in October, and even so, without any guarantee.

Alcidio

Without a job, wages or savings, Alcídio Huo has to improvise in order to survive.

He worked at a tourist resort in the city of Inhambane and had his contract terminated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. For now, Alcídio lives on the proceeds of odd jobs, which pay him just about enough to eat.

The hotel workers’ union speaks of more than 1,400 employees put out of work, either furloughed or dismissed all together.