Sofitel, workers reach agreement

SOFITEL Philippine Plaza has agreed to rehire its employees in the event the hotel reopens.

«Within 15 days from actual reopening, the employees concerned may report to work, and the Hotel shall accept them back under the same terms and conditions in the applicable CBA (collective bargaining agreement). Thereupon, the employment relationship shall resume,» read part of the agreement sent to the media by Federation of Free Workers head Sonny Matula.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday by representatives of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza unions under the National Union of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant and Allied Industries, the hotel management, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.

Guests loved to lounge in Sofitel’s cabanas. PHOTO COURTESY OF HOTEL SOFITEL

On June 24, Sen. Risa Hontiveros called for a Senate investigation into the implications on labor policy of the hotel's closure. The probe order prompted Philippine Plaza Holdings Inc. President and Director Esteban Peña Sy to explain why the hotel closed.

Built in 1976, the Sofitel Philippine Plaza ceased operations on July 1 to make way for major renovations.