The Telangana hospitality industry employs approximately 1.5 lakh people of which 3000 are involved in sales. To give these sales professionals a platform to share their opinions and air their grievances, the Telangana Hotels and Resorts Sales Professional Association (THRSPWA) was formed on February 2018 and registered on 14 July 2020.
With 175 members currently, this registration came an opportune time, when hotels and restaurants in the state were shuttered following the nationwide lockdown. According to Elvis Ronald, President of THRSPWA more than 80,000 employees in Telangana were laid off since March 2020 or put on furlough.
He questioned that while the government has extended support to teachers, healthcare workers and labourers, why no help was forthcoming to hotel staffers who played a pivotal role in the development of urban hubs like Hyderabad and helped these cities generate huge revenues by attracting corporate and business travelers.
The loss of employment resulted not just in a sense of frustration and helplessness that affected many families, but also pushed many households to the brink of destitution. Many sales professionals were unable to make both ends meet or find another job because of their focused experience in the hospitality industry.
Talking about the duress faced by his colleagues, Ronald stated these disastrous situation claimed the lives of four peers. “Four of our colleagues – Jaqulene, Sisir Kumar, Mrs Roja Rani and Shivarama Krishna – lost their lives. Another coworker, Vinay Kumar, is currently paralysed. However, none of them received any help from their respective hotel companies or the government,” he lamented.
THRSPWA is now seeking assistance from government agencies at the state level as well as from industry players, like hotels, to help employees tide through these tough times. “The most important support we expect is job security. Even if a person is being laid off, they should be served three months notice with pay,” Ronald stated.
He added that the hotel company should offer mandatory health and accidental insurance along with natural death coverage during the tenure of their service. “After laying the employee off, the government should offer the employee a provision to continue with the health insurance policy till he gets a job,” Ronald added.
The association has already made representations to MLA Srinivas Goud, Minister of Prohibition & Excise, Sports & Youth services, Tourism & Culture and Archaeology in Telangana, MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Minister of State for Animal Husbandary, Fisheries and Cinematography of Telangana, Gadwal Vijayalaxhmi Garu, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Mayor and Congress MP Revanth Reddy. However, Ronald claimed that there has been no progress in these representations, though the association is pursuing with the politicians with phone calls and reminders to their personal assistants.
