On World Tourism Day 2017, EFFAT, representing the almost 10 million workers employed in the European hotel, restaurant, catering and fast food sector, is shining a light on the need to improve the attractiveness of employment in the sector.
Sustainability, competitiveness and the need to upgrade skills being the major themes of this year’s World Tourism Day events, EFFAT underlines that the tourism sector will only be able to fullfil its role of a key driver for job creation, if working conditions are attractive enough for workers to seek a job and to remain in the sector.
“People need decent work, with fair pay and full social protection” stated Kerstin Howald, EFFAT Tourism Sector Secretary. “This would benefit the tourism sector as a whole, boost the creation of jobs and contribute to making employment in tourism more sustainable.”
This must go hand in hand with the respect of workers’ rights, the freedom of association and the right to collective bargain.
EFFAT is actively supporting the “Fair Hotels and Restaurants” initiatives of its affiliates which promote quality business in the hospitality sector where collective agreements are established, workers' rights are respected and which are good examples of social dialogue between trade union representatives and employers, and has proposed to the European Platform on Undeclared Work to take up these “social labelling” initiatives as examples of good practices which can contribute to the combat of undeclared work.