Wages and working conditions key

STAFF SHORTAGE From hotels and restaurants to entertainment, low pay and poor working conditions prevail in the hospitality sector.

Hospitality staff were underpaid and undervalued pre-pandemic – and this needs to change


It was around about this time two years ago when Covid-19 really started to raise its head as an imminent danger to life here in western Europe.
At that time, we all thought it would only be a part of our lives for months rather than years, but two years down the track we are still battling the coronavirus.
It’s true that society has now largely opened up, but lots of young families still have children contracting the virus and that still means huge challenges for all involved.
There are also challenges too for those in business, and the availability of staff is fast emerging as perhaps the biggest obstacle of all post-Covid.
The hospitality sector was among the worst hit during the pandemic, but those involved always felt there would be real ‘bounce’ once restrictions were lifted.
However, taking advantage of that bounce has become a major challenge as so many staff have found alternative careers and are no longer available. The people simply are not there to fill the major staffing gaps.
The problems that exist were laid bare last week by FΡilte Ireland, the body in charge of driving the recovery. Plans outlined in its ‘From Survival to Recovery’ document include a doubling of the domestic marketing investment to drive short breaks year-round; further investment in the digital presence of tourism businesses; four regional tourism strategies for Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, Dublin and Wild Atlantic Way; 27 local destination development plans, which will be critical to driving the long-term recovery of tourism across Ireland; and plans to reduce tourism’s carbon footprint.
However, it also revealed that 30 percent of the businesses it surveyed could face closure if recruitment challenges are not resolved.

Significant challenges
Commenting, FΡilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said: “Staffing and competitiveness are the two most significant challenges facing the recovery of tourism in 2022. The pandemic has had a profound impact on the industry’s skill base, with a mass exodus of workers into other industries that reopened earlier.”
The harsh reality for the hospitality sector is that before the pandemic, its staff were underpaid and undervalued. This must change if the staffing crisis is to be addressed.
SIPTU made this abundantly clear in a statement last week. Sector Organiser Denis Hynes said that throughout the hospitality sector, from hotels and restaurants to entertainment, low pay and poor working conditions prevail.
“This is resulting in less workers taking up employment in the sector and those currently employed in it often being forced to look for alternative employment because they cannot make ends meet,” said Mr Hynes.
SIPTU also say that unfortunately, many employers groups within the hospitality sector have refused to engage with workers’ representatives to agree such minimum pay and conditions.
It is clear that this is the core issue, the main reason why less workers are willing to take up employment in the hospitality sector.
So while the the owners and recruiters in the sector can moan about the lack of available workers, they most also realise that without substantial wage increases and better working conditions, they simply won’t get the staff they need.
As the economy fully reopens, competition for skilled workers is at an all-time high, so the hospitality sector needs to drive immediate changes to retain existing and attract new staff.
FΡilte Ireland has stated that fundamentally the situation is about getting the staff, but also keeping the staff and upskilling them. Crucially, that will only happen if the Government supports the industry – and the industry in turn rewards its workers.
If both those things happen in tandem, then hopefully the staff will become available to make this a much-needed bumper 2022 for hospitality and tourism businesses.