Poor labour conditions in travel and tourism are impeding sustainability, damaging recruitment and heightening risks for business, according to a new study. Ian Taylor reports
A new report on labour and human rights in travel and tourism, launched this week, concludes many workers “are marginalised and face high risks of exploitation” especially migrant, informal and undeclared workers in the industry.
The report, entitled ‘Why the S in ESG matters’, is based on research by Dr Anke Winchenbach of the University of Surrey and was commissioned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the IUF union representing food, agriculture, hotel, restaurant, catering and allied workers internationally.
The study draws on interviews with industry leaders including representatives of Tui and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), industry investors and global trade unions, and analyses data and research on labour and human rights.
It notes travel and tourism “is characterised by a high number of migrant workers and high levels of informal and undeclared work” and reports: “Migrant workers are exposed to many of the industry’s exploitative working conditions [and] their plight exacerbated by a lack of reporting of abuse out of fear of reprisals, job loss, revocation of immigration status, low levels of legal protection, inability to access support, language barriers and low union representation.
“Documented labour and human rights violations include below minimum-wage salaries, no freedom of association, discrimination, no unemployment protection, health and safety violations, and forced and child labour.”
The report notes that while data on migrant labour in the industry “is not widely available”, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates 10% of the global hospitality workforce are migrants and in 2020, “16% of EU and 20% of US tourism workers were foreign born”.
It also notes the UN Business & Human Rights Navigator initiative identified hospitality as “a high-risk industry” for forced labour driven by outsourcing and sub-contracting of services, and business consultancy PwC found “progress around diversity and inclusion in travel and tourism” lags “10 to 20 points behind other industries”.
The report quotes an International Trades Union Confederation study which found workers’ rights violations in destinations “are a systemic issue” and some of the largest tourism growth areas “are regions where global workers’ rights are frequently and severely violated”.
It concludes: “Undignified labour conditions in travel and tourism have been a concern for decades, [and] limited progress has been made toward improving labour conditions.
“Outsourcing and subcontracting are increasingly common in transport services, construction, housekeeping and food services.”
‘Too many workers living day to day’
Introducing the report, ITF assistant general secretary Rob Johnston notes: “Too many workers in the tourism sector are living a day-to-day reality of precarious work, low pay and unsafe working conditions
“The emergence of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria as serious considerations for investors, businesses, regulators, governments, unions and the millions of workers they represent in travel and tourism presents a welcome opportunity to address fundamental issues that have plagued the sector for decades.”
The report identifies “a lack of senior leadership and board commitment” to improving labour and human rights, and that “human rights are not well embedded in investors’ risk assessments” along with a lack of generally agreed, non-financial accounting and reporting standards, and “a gap between good intentions and addressing real issues and risks”.
It proposes seven areas of action for businesses, governments, investors and trade unions.
These include establishing multi-stakeholder initiatives with strong policy and legislative frameworks and compliance systems, increased access to unions and experts on labour and human rights, ‘double materiality assessments’ (DMAs) on labour and human rights, developing and implementing policies for improving labour and human rights, and communicating the results “transparently”.
The report, Why the S in ESG Matters: Social sustainability and labour and human rights in travel and tourism, is available from the ITF website.