Miguel Albuquerque has expressed his concern about the ‘bulk dismissal’ of 63 Reid’s Hotel employees.

When confronted by journalist, the President of Madeira said that at the moment, the region has all the support mechanisms to guarantee employability in the tourism sector, stressing that he hopes the ‘Reid’s situation’ will not be repeated elsewhere.  He went on to offer his sympathy to those who have been dismissed, saying, “I am sorry because it is a group of workers. I understand the distress and worry their families must be feeling due to their loss of financial security. However, the government cannot interfere in the decision of a private company.”

He went on to say that the pandemic has severely affected tourism and catering businesses throughout the island.

But it didn’t end there…

The President was later tackled again by reporters about the Reid’s situation and that of Saccharum.  Responding to their questions, Miguel Albuquerque was quick to point out that the situation of the two hotels was completely different.  The situation regarding Reid’s Hotel is that of a private company who is restructuring their organisation, and in their case going down the ‘dismissal route.’ Whereas the Saccharum is merely laying off staff, so that they can concentrate on the gradual resumption of tourism in their other hotels.

On this occasion, the President pointed out that hotel occupancy throughout the region is around 30%, stressing that the figures are what they initially predicted.  But, he went on to say, he was optimistic about the future, stating that almost 80 thousand people had visited Madeira throughout August and that this figure was set to rise to 100,000 in September. Even so, he admitted, the island’s recovery will be gradual, and that his government will continue to hold all the events listed on their events schedule, while adapting them to meet new health and safety requirements.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com