President thanks Berjaya’s long-serving staff |26 June 2019
The Berjaya staff in a souvenir photograph with President Faure
President Danny Faure yesterday met fourteen employees of the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino who have clocked 25 years of service.
The rendez-vous at State House was for President Faure to congratulate them on their long years of service and also thanked them for their courage, dedication and loyalty in their professions.
Apart from working for the resort for 25 years, most of them have been working in the tourism industry for over 30 years. Some of the employees who talked to Seychelles NATION said that perseverance, determination and hard work have kept them going through all these years.
On behalf of their colleagues, 63-year-old housekeeper, Marie-Yvonne Albert, and 59-year-old assistant restaurant manageress Isabelle Antat said they were very happy to have been able to meet President Faure and share their accomplishments with him.
“We discussed about the tourism industry, on its challenges and also about our work and on our length of stay on the job. We also voiced out some of our concerns which we are facing in our careers, to which he gave us his support and encouragement. We’ll just wait and see what he will be able to do for us,” said Mrs Antat who has been working in the tourism industry for 32 years. She started work as a trainee waitress at the age of 27 years old. With tourism as the main pillar of the economy she noted that more could be done to encourage tourism workers in the hotel service sector.
“To work in the tourism industry, especially in the hotel, you need to have compassion, love what you are doing and also learn to listen to others who know the job better than you and learn more. This is a message that I would like to pass to young people wishing to join the tourism industry. Things are not easy but you need to be able to persevere to surmount all its challenges. This is what have kept me in the tourism industry all those years,” said Mrs Albert. She joined the tourism sector by coincidence as she was just looking for any work to feed her siblings. Mrs Albert has worked in the tourism industry for 41 years.
The fourteen staff were honoured for their 25 long years of service in a ceremony held on Monday at the hotel which coincided with its 25th anniversary as part of the Berjaya group of hotels based in Malaysia. The Beau Vallon hotel became part of the Berjaya family in 1994.
Apart from the resort rewarding the staff with a complementary three days and two nights stay in the hotel as well as an allowance that will go towards their long service, meeting President Faure was also part and parcel of their long service recognition.
The Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay employees were accompanied to State House by Peter Wong, head of operations for Berjaya Hotels and Resorts and Thanuja Leelarathna, the financial controller.