“Come back stronger” was the rallying cry of hotel workers from IUF affiliates around the world for last week’s 2021 IUF Global Week of Action for Hotel Workers. Determined to win improved working conditions, hotel workers insisted that despite the flagging tourism sector and eighteen months of the pandemic, workers and the industry must come back stronger with trade unions playing an active role in the development and implementation of all tourism recovery plans.
- In North America, UNITE HERE continued its campaign to demand the retention of daily housekeeping; in an obvious effort to decrease costs and increase profits, hotel chains such as Hilton are trying to make daily housekeeping optional which would lead to the loss of about 180,000 hotel housekeeping jobs across North America
- In the UK, at its Policy Conference Unite the Union adopted a resolution ensuring that all future block bookings made for Unite will require the hotel to provide daily housekeeping
- Spanish affiliate CC.OO Servicios and UTHGRA from Argentina held an online workshop where workers and union leaders from both countries shared experiences and discussed the need to continue fighting together for hotel workers
- In Africa, affiliates from across the continent including Benin, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda, held activities and training sessions for hotel workers; in Benin, the IUF affiliate FESYNTRA-HTA organized a campaign to raise awareness of the need to vaccinate against COVID-19
- In the Asia-Pacific region, hotel workers across the region stated “Our work is essential work!” with specific demands including: respect for union rights, a safe workplace, equality at work, and a workplace free from harassment
As Sue Longley, IUF General Secretary, stated, “Daily housekeeping is good for workers and good for hotel guests. It should be automatic, and we will continue fighting around the world to make sure that all hotel workers Come back stronger post-COVID.”
