Tourism Authority: An Employee Claims to be 'Humiliated' Files Complaint Against José Arunasalom

An employee of the Tourism Authority (TA) filed a complaint on Monday, March 9, with the Ministry of Labor against the former chairman of the organization, José Arunasalom. She was accompanied by her lawyer, Me Lovena Sowkhee.

According to the lawyer, her client claims to have suffered from burnout due to incidents occurring in her workplace. Me Lovena Sowkhee emphasizes that there is a proper way to treat workers.

She reminds that labor laws condemn violence in the workplace, including verbal abuse, aggressive tone when addressing an employee, or humiliating them.

"My client felt humiliated by the way she was spoken to," states Me Lovena Sowkhee. She adds that workplace violence can lead to a prison sentence of up to five years.

This development comes a few days after José Arunasalom was suspended, as decided by the Cabinet on Friday, March 6.

According to the Minister of Tourism, this decision follows several internal complaints regarding José Arunasalom's behavior towards certain employees of the organization.

In a statement published in Le Défi Quotidien on Monday, José Arunasalom claims that there is no evidence against him. He denounces anonymous letters that he describes as cowardly and defamatory.

José Arunasalom asserts that everything he is accused of is completely "false". "I am disgusted by the cowardice of people," he says. He explains that the Tourism Authority had been without leadership for several months, which may have led to some laxity.

According to him, the arrival of a new Board marked an effort to restore order and instill more discipline within the institution. In this context, he argues, anonymous letters and various allegations were made against him.

"You know, in Mauritius, when we enforce discipline, people are not happy. They were comfortable in their routines. When we impose discipline, people call it brutality and aggressiveness. That is completely false," he asserts.