Under the slogan safe work + safe jobs + union rights = safe hotels, the 2020 Global Week of Action for Hotel Workers, gathered hotel workers and trade union leaders around the world to discuss the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the hotel sector.
Together with IUF regional organizations and affiliates, the IUF organized a series of online events to share experiences, develop strategies and shine a spotlight on the impact of COVID-19 on employment, working conditions, and health & safety for hotel workers around the world. While most hotel chains have continued to act unilaterally, the IUF has reiterated, the need for hotel companies to negotiate COVID-19 safety protocols which protect both workers and hotel guests with unions.
- Latin America: on November 30, UTHGRA and REL-UITA organized a virtual workshop, “Visit a Safe Hotel,” to train workers and leaders across Latin America on measures to ensure the health and safety of employees and hotel guests.
- Europe: on December 1, UNITE the Union and EFFAT organized a webinar, “Global Hotel Workers Fight Back,” to highlight how workers in the UK and across Europe are fighting to defend workers’ rights. The event also featured speakers from UNITE HERE in the USA and Canada.
- Africa: on December 2, FHTRC-ONSLG and IUF AFRICA held an online rally, “Reinstate the Fired Union Leaders at the World Bank Group-funded Sheraton Grand Conakry,” to highlight union-busting in Guinea.
- Caribbean: on December 3, IUF Caribbean organized a webinar, “Trade Unions Defending the Rights of Workers in the midst of COVID-19,” to focus on the impact of COVID-19 across the region, to share strategies and to develop future actions.
- Asia/ Pacific: IUF Asia/Pacific continued its “Safe Hotels” campaign on the right to a safe workplace and the safe re-opening of hotels which began in April 2020, escalated through a week of action in 9 countries in the lead-up to World Tourism Day on September 27, 2020 and will continue through January 2021.
