From April 25-29, 2022, the ILO convened a tripartite technical meeting of governments, employers and trade unions to discuss the challenges and opportunities and to develop proposals for the promotion of decent work in the tourism sector with a view toward a sustainable post-COVID recovery and the future of work.
Key objectives achieved by the IUF delegation included (see here for the official Conclusions):
- Recognition that governments have the duty to adopt, implement and effectively enforce national laws and international standards to ensure that the fundamental principles and rights at work are applied to all workers in the tourism sector, regardless of their employment relationship including workers in the informal economy
- Confirmation that governments must put in place strategies and policies to ensure equality and non-discrimination, with a focus on equal opportunities, equal pay for equal work, equal participation, and equal treatment
- Governments should develop national programs on OSH, including gender-sensitive practices, which protect workers by eliminating or minimizing work-related hazards and risks in accordance with national and international standards
- ILO to promote and implement the 2017 ILO guidelines on decent work and socially responsible tourism with regional workshops
- ILO to conduct research on trends and developments in the tourism sector including issues such as sustainable recovery practices, recruitment and retention of workers, and existing and newly emerging labour shortages alongside possible measures to address them
Kerstin Howald, Workers’ Group Vice-Chairperson stated, “COVID-19 has exacerbated decent work deficits in the tourism sector, many of which had existed before the pandemic. Social dialogue, based on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, is key to improve working conditions, wages, occupational health and safety, social protection, gender equality, technical vocational education and training, and for the just transition to an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future of work.”
