Unpaid Employees – Who is to blame???

Added by Julie Finlay on 04/07/2012.
Saved under Featured, General
Tags: children, crisis in greece, crisis in kos, electricity, food, hotel, hotels, Julie Finlay, money, people, rob, stress, Unpaid Employees

All of us are aware of family members, friends and co workers who have not been paid from their employers but how serious is the problem we ask?

Speaking with many local and foreign workers on Kos no one is excluded from this, whether people are working in hotels (large and small), cafe’s, bars, restaurants, tour offices, private schools……or, or, or…. the list goes on. There are many people not receiving their salary.

There are reports of hotel workers who have not been paid since they started work this year (for 2 months) and even who have not received their salaries from last summer. Reports of single parents who have not been paid for months and who have small children to support working in the tourist industry. Reports of people not having the money to pay for petrol to get to work and then being sacked for not going to work (even though they called their employers and told them the reason), Reports of teachers working in private schools who have not been paid (non tourist industry)… Like I said above the list goes on…. what does this mean?

Well we all need to think about it? There is NO MONEY circulating on the island…..

Now how does this happen? One thing is for sure that there is no reason why hotel workers should not receive their salary!!!

We all know that when tourists come to this island they have paid for their holidays in FULL sometimes even up to a year in advance… Now if you calculate even 100, 000 tourists all staying for average of 10 days on the island (2 sharing a room) at an average of 10 euros per night per room (which is paid to the hotels) that generates 5,000,000 (5 million euros). Now I have to say these figures are just guess work and only used as an example… My figures could be way out but the point being that there should be some money ciruclating on the island (even if it is not a lot). Where is this money? Are the hotels being paid from the tour operators?

If the answer is no, then there is part of the reason we are all in such dire straights…. If the tour operators are not paying, then the hotels obviously cannot pay the staff, who then in turn cannot pay their rent, bills, shopping let alone go out for a coffee or meal…. Which then means the landlords are suffering as no one is paying their rent (some not receiving rent for currently over 6 months from their tenants) so the landlords are unable to go out and spend money as they don’t have any…. so you all get the picture all services and sectors are slowly and painfully dying as it is a knock on effect.

Another thing is that surely the larger chain hotels are profitable otherwise why even build and open them so why are they not even paying?

If the hotels are being paid from the tour operators, then why are they not paying their staff?

Now I am not saying that all the hotels are not paying their staff, I could not even answer that question if asked but I have been told personally from the actual staff of the hotels that there are many that aren’t paying. I am also not saying that if the hotels were paying their staff that all the problems would be solved (the problem is much larger than simply that; obviously the reduction in tourism & the debt incurred previously by a lot of people needs to be taken into account) but I am saying at least there could be more money circulating around the island.

Here at the moment (and for some for a long time) it is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul and that is if you even have Peter there to rob!!! Is this situation going to improve?… Are people going to receive their pay in July? Are landlords going to receive some rent? is food going to be bought? If the answer is no then we are looking to a future of worry, stress, sadness and maybe even much, much worse!

With ryanair pulling out of the October flights, and the uncertainty of if they will even fly to Kos at all next year… a mayor that refuses to talk and at least comfort his people, stories of suicide, people fleeing from Greece, the possiblity of countries such as England closing the borders to Greek people. Threats of electricity being cut if you cannot pay your taxes, friends, family and co workers being unable to buy medicine or see even get to see a doctor…. What do we have to hope for, where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

What is being done by the people in power to help their people and where are the leaders who are supposed to be there for their people and giving hope? Where are they? From what I see they are driving around in their expensive cars, eating and drinking in restaurants, buying luxuries whilst mothers and fathers are worrying how they will feed their children today, even after they have worked a 70 hour week in their job…

For those who are being paid, the stories are that the average wage is 2 euros an hour….. that is 560 euros a month… with average rent being at 300 euros that leaves 260 euros to pay electricity, food, clothing, medicine etc and if you have children the list is endless.

Please people in power look at your fellow countrymen and see the stress, worry and desperation in their eyes and DO SOMETHING!!! STOP Burying your head in the sand and show you give a damn!!!

Photo of Kos by Manuela Eibach

twyffy

Well said Julie, what has to happen before the powers that be WAKE UP , because if they don’t they might not get to wake up at all , it is getting a very dangerous situation, and this is the summer , christ knows what it will be in the winter ,,Please note Christine this is the world you don’t acknowledge!!!!.
verkos

Unfortunately, the ‘fat cats’ are getting fatter here in Kos so to speak. With the minimum wage been cut this helps the hoteliers as they can employee people for even less than previous years. Also it seems to be a ‘trick’ here in Kos to employ someone in a coffee shop etc and not pay them for 2 months, the employee quits to find new employment and another poor sucker has to work for same employer for another two months for no pay, hence The Fat Cat (employer) can have staff working for free for the summer season. There needs to be strict labour laws here in Greece and they need to be implemented and monitored. Also with reducing the minimum tax threshold to a miserable 5000 euros p.a. how is anybody supposed tolive especially as the price of living/surviving (food, bills etc) is more expensive than many other countries in Europe.
jo

i am a greek woman my parents left greece when i was two years old i returned as an adult and left for the same reason they had to 40 years ago . the mistake is the people are the power without the support of the citizens these politicians would not have the ability to destroy the hope people have of living a secure life .the citizens are not united thats why nothing can be done . evrybody talking at once nothing will be heard if everybody unites and shouts with one loud voice it will make a difference ….
sympathetic

Sadly the problem is bigger than people not being paid, it begins with big businesses who don’t pay tax – did you know the Blue Lagoon Hotel managed to declare an income of 13 million euros and not pay a penny to the tax office? This is one example and there are others, without the much needed income tax, Greece cannot afford to implement new procedures and tighter laws in employment. Every worker should be taxed at source be it a part time waitress or a hotel owner, the law has to be changed to collect the correct money from the right people, Secondly as mentioned below there needs to be a proper Department of Employment not just OEAD and IKA to give out unemployment cheques in the winter months but to be on the side of the worker who is owed money from last year, any citizen should not be afraid to stand up for their hard earned cash and not one should be starting in July when there is income on the island. Sadly, the people of Greece voted yet again for the parties who got them into this mess in the same place so how can this country expect to move forward when everyone is living in the past??? Sadly Greece needs a miracle to be saved right now and they are a bit short on the ground….keep promoting the country to family and friends in a positive light in order to keep tourists coming but keep the bad side out of the media, this is putting off prospective travllers!!!
clare

Im in Corfu i have friends who have not been paid since last summer some even since last may. They work 7 days a week in a kitchen in a large hotel.They have been told that if they leave they will not have a leg to stand on to get their owed money this statement was made from the owner of the hotel! ok so why do they stay?? well they have told me that if they leave they wont get ika in the winter sand they will not have food as they take home left overs from the hotel they feel they are being pushed to the edge cause there is a long line of people willing to take their positions for 10 euro a day! is there no way that we can name and shame these “employers”.
christine

I think the situation with the hotel workers not being paid, is a knock on effect because the huge Tour Operators have not paid the Hoteliers. Its a know fact that everyone keeps hold of the money. The guest goes into his local travel office and books and pays, that Travel Agent keeps hold of the money to pay his staff, bill etc and then at the end of the month, or the middle of the following month, he finally pays it out to the Tour Operator, who in turn does exactly the same..pays his staff in the uk, wages etc and then finally when they cannot find any more excuses they pay the Hotels. This year, due to the elections they had the best excuse not to send the money, they wanted the contract redone in Drachma
because they were so sure we were going to leave the euro, then after the first election they still had the same excuse. Now the excuses have run out so the money will have to be sent. Again i can only talk about Kardamena as I have no personal knowledge of any other resort, but most of my friends and family who work in hotels here in Kardamena get a lot more than 560 euro a month….
Since arriving in Greece, i find the favourite saying of everyone is Ti na Kaname, well the time has come for everyone to do something…everyone who is in this situation have to stand together and do something. Perhaps someone could write a report naming and shaming these Hotel Owners, cafe bar owners….who do such things.
I also started work on the 12th may, and todate have not received my wages, but because i have worked in tourism for such a long time, and know how long it takes to receive payment from the other end, I am giving my employer the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully will receive my wages in the not to distant future.
Alessandra

We want names…hotels, cafeterias, language schools…let’s subject them to public shame !!