Vol. 470 No. 3
2 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the disquiet in the tourism sector, particularly among low paid workers; and if he will introduce a scheme of minimum wages in this sector. [18947/96]
I am aware of disquiet in relation to pay among some sections of the work-force in the tourism sector which was made clear to me when I met a delegation from SIPTU earlier this year.
The whole area of industrial relations is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Deputy Bruton. In relation to a question from the Deputy on 9 October, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment indicated that in the absence of statutory regulation through a Joint Labour Committee, or otherwise, rates of pay are a matter for negotiation and agreement between employees and employers, and-or their representatives.
Recent increases in demand for skilled staff, as a result of growth in visitor numbers and expansion in facilities, will inevitably put upward pressure on pay and conditions in those sections of tourism where the rate of improvement has been sluggish and out of line with developments elsewhere in the sector. Ongoing consumer pressure for better standards and quality of service have also added to the pressure to improve staff conditions and perceptions of them among potential recruits. I will be elaborating on the latter point in replies to separate questions today on recruitment to the industry.
The Chair is rightly entitled to rule in or out questions which he judges appropriate on these matters. I am concerned about an ongoing difficulty in a hotel in O'Connell Street where there has been a strike for a number of months. I understand the employees concerned have been treated extremely badly. Like the Minister I had talks with SIPTU on that and other matters related to the tourism industry, particularly the hotel industry. Will the Minister comment on that ongoing strike in that hotel in our fair city? Has he done anything to intervene or to bring about a resolution? I understand that a number of the employees concerned are paid a pittance, ranging from £2 to £3.50 per hour. That is outrageous and the employees concerned have been on a picket line for the past number of months. I have nothing but the greatest of sympathy for them but they are symbolic of a malaise in terms of low pay that is hitting the industry. Will the Minister comment on the recent statement made by a spokesman on behalf of CERT that the tourism industry will have a shortage of 16,000 trainees in the next three years? Will he further agree that the reason for that is pay and conditions at a certain level of endeavour in that industry?
I am aware of the dispute in the hotel mentioned by the Deputy. I have not interfered in it. As the Deputy is aware, hotels' joint labour committees do not cover the Dublin area and, therefore, rates of pay and conditions are matters to be dealt with between employers and employees. It is not good for the industry in general to have that type of ongoing dispute. I understand that no application has been made to the Labour Court for the formation of a joint labour committee to cover the area in question. It was brought to my attention when I met a delegation from SIPTU earlier this year. A number of conciliation conferences were held without success.
The comment the Deputy attributed to the chairman of CERT may have been misconstrued. The chairman said there will be a need to recruit 16,000 over the next number of years which will present a difficulty for the hotel industry in general in terms of numbers because of the decrease in population and the need to recruit workers for the sector because of the increasing number of tourists. In that sense I welcomed the recent initiative by the Irish Hotels' Federation to introduce its own code of practice and pension schemes and a host of other proposals which will heighten the perception of the tourism industry as one that is not short-term, lightweight or without career prospects but one with long-term possibilities for young people. In that sense I also welcome that initiative.
Will the Minister intervene in the dispute in this hotel, the name of which I cannot mention, for obvious reasons? I am sure he is concerned about it as we all are. I am not imputing that there is a lack of concern on his part, but I am seriously worried that this ongoing strike is becoming a symbol of a particular type of treatment of employees, not only in that hotel but in other parts of the industry. We have an excellent industry and it is regrettable that such strikes occur.
Deputy Killeen and I met and were very impressed by the chairman of CERT. He and his colleagues are running an extremely impressive operation and it is appreciated by us here and by the industry. Arising from the chairman's statement will the Minister agree that the lack of pay and proper conditions is a disincentive, particularly to young people entering the hotel industry? Is there anything we can do immediately to introduce a statutory minimum wage to give employees in that industry a decent break? Has the Minister any proposals to ensure equality of treatment for men and women employed in the tourism industry in view of a number of complaints of discrimination against women in that area?
Deputy Andrews will be well aware that there are well tried methods of working out conciliation and, hopefully, conclusions to disputes.
They are not working.
I do not like to see a dispute like this in any hotel. As there is no application before the Labour Court for a joint committee in this regard, I hope that this matter might be sorted out by another conciliation conference. Most of the complaints I get are not in respect of the hotel sector, they concern the public house sector and fast food outlets where lower wage rates apply. In that sense the Irish Hotels' Federation is responding to this matter raised by me over 12 months ago which has been dealt with to some extent by the Tourism Council in a detailed paper to be worked out. I commended the Irish Hotels' Federation for its initiative in that area. There are career opportunities for young people moving into the tourism sector. This is a question of perception upon which the hotel sector, in particular, is working and must work in the future and I hope it will ensure that young people understand, by virtue of their career guidance teachers, parental guidance and their own observations, that there are genuine long-term career prospects in the tourism industry which now employs 102,000 people here and which is part of the fastest growing sector in the world.
