When coronavirus started to impact the tourism industry in March, the first ones to suffer were the employees. In mid-March, Cafe del Mar Bali (CDMB) sent staff on unpaid leave suddenly, without any warning. They were never paid their March service charge, which was blatantly stolen by CDMB, as service charge money does not belong to the company and should be paid in full to the staff. Muslim staff are still owed their THR allowance for Idul Fitri. Although CDMB assured staff that they would continue to pay their BPJS (Health insurance), one employee discovered to their surprise that it was unpaid when he went to the hospital for a procedure and the hospital declined their BPJS card. In the middle of a global pandemic, CDMB have completely let down their team of approximately 350 people. Most recently, employees were called for a meeting at the venue, where CDMB told employees that their benefits and monies owed would remain unpaid and that their jobs are no longer guaranteed when they reopen in July.

Cafe del Mar has proven that they are only interested in taking what they can from local Balinese and Indonesian people. While they were happy to profit from their labour and culture, they are giving nothing back in a time of crisis. The management excuses themselves by claiming that the business has run out of money. While their employees are now going hungry and are unable to access medical care, we can only assume that the shareholders are still able to afford food, medical bills and luxury lifestyles.

We demand that the owners and shareholders of Cafe del Mar Bali reach into their fat wallets and immediately pay back the service charge to their employees, pay the BPJS that they were promised and pay the THR allowance to Muslim employees. This is just the bare minimum that staff are already entitled to as per their contracts, and what staff were already promised by CDMB. We also encourage Cafe del Mar Bali to find it in their hearts to guarantee jobs to staff who want them upon reopening and continue paying their BPJS in the meantime.