Hotel staff claim they have been left in dark

Hotel staff claim they have been left in dark

28 October 2015

PORTAFERRY Hotel staff are angry they have been “left out to dry” since its sudden closure.

Ten days after the hotel closed due to the departure of its tenant employer William McAleese, manageress Martha Tumelty said workers felt humiliated by the lack of information offered to them.

She said they felt ill-informed about ongoing negotiations about the potential future of the hotel and were becoming increasingly desperate for information.

Mrs Tumelty said they had heard reports that other parties had expressed an interest in running the hotel and said they were particularly disappointed that the owner of the lough-side building, Beannchor, had failed to engage with them despite such speculation.

She said they were very keen to meet a representative from Beannchor to gauge the likelihood of the hotel reopening.

“I was manageress of the hotel for over 10 years and I feel responsible for the staff who are turning to me for answers. I am angry that I cannot give any,” she said.

“Not one of us has heard anything official. We are depending on hearsay and as a result we do not even know if we are employed.

“We feel we have been left out to dry. Everybody is in a mess and we have had meetings between us to try to find a way forward.

“I am getting passed from one to the other and everybody seems to know what is happening behind the scenes but us. We really do not understand why we are the least informed.

“We want to talk to the owners of the building as quickly as we can so people have secure jobs again. Half the town is gone so we can’t let this go any further.

“Time is critical. We are calling on the owners to reopen the hotel, take the locks off and turn the lights on.”

Despite Mrs Tumelty’s appeal for information, a spokeswoman for Beannchor said all operational responsibility for the Portaferry Hotel, including employees, lies with the tenants – the McAleeses. 

As a result, she said the company did not have any operational involvement with the hotel or staff.

“[Beannchor] has made this clear with any employees that have contacted them, advising them to take up their concerns with the tenant,” she said. “Failing that, they should contact the Labour Relations Agency.”