Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is nice to see the Minister of State. If we are discussing sustainable tourism, it is fair to say that people must able to make a living in the industry. It is disappointing that, in a very good and varied speech of 2,000-odd words, he made no reference to the terms and conditions in the sector, yet we know from CSO data that people working in the tourism industry, and the hospitality sector in particular, are three times as likely to work on the national minimum wage as an average worker. This is the minimum wage that the Government froze in last week's budget.

I am familiar with the sector, as I worked as a trade union official for the best part of ten years trying to help workers in it. I am afraid that conditions have not improved. I wish to focus on this issue. Enough Members will discuss the other issues and, therefore, I will focus on those working in the industry, the poor rates of pay and the poor working conditions. New research that has been published emerged at a joint committee hearing last week, although the Minister of State may not have had an opportunity to read it. Dr. Deirdre Curran of NUI Galway conducted research in which she found shocking levels of bullying, harassment, intimidation and assault. They are commonplace in the hospitality sector. Some 76% of workers in the sector reported verbal abuse by managers; the level of physical abuse is just 15%. Let us consider that one in ten workers in the hospitality sector is suffering abuse. Some 88% said they earned at least the minimum wage but many complained that they were not fully paid for the hours and overtime they worked. Some 52% did not get their break entitlements. Almost one in five, 16%, said they received no regular wage slips or that when they did, they lacked important details. A total of 43% did not receive a written statement setting out their terms of employment when they commenced the job.

I refer to some quotes from people in the industry contained in the survey, as they put the matter in context. Some were quite direct but it is important to put them on the record of the House. One said:

There is no respect in the industry. It is a dog-eat-dog environment. You will be kicked out the door faster than you walked in with no pay, holidays etc.

Another said the general manager was a complete tyrant who regularly physically and verbally abused his staff. An example was when this person could not find a water jug, the boss grabbed them by the arm and forcefully dragged them across the kitchen, yelling that if they pulled their head out of their arse and actually looked for one, they would find it.According to another:

I myself was very badly bullied in my workplace ... I was ignored, not given rest breaks, but worst of all his wife would come in with little notes of things she had seen or heard happening, accuse us of them, and make us sign off on the answers we gave ... All this from a guy who would not allow me to go home the day my partner had a miscarriage as 'he had nobody to cover me'.

Let me stress that these are not isolated examples. This is empirical research from NUI Galway. It has been taken so seriously that the Low Pay Commission has asked Dr. Curran to meet its members this week. Anyone familiar with it knows the reality of the sector. I could not put it better than Patricia King of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions when she said earlier this year that the policy of employers in these industries is to work people as hard as they can for as little as they can.

I ask the Minister of State how we can have a sustainable tourism sector when this is happening Surely people who work for a living should be entitled to earn a living. At the heart of this, which I raised this on this morning's Order of Business, is the fact that the two major employer bodies in the sector - the Irish Hotels Federation, IHF, and the Restaurants Association of Ireland, RAI - refuse to engage with the joint labour committees, JLCs, that were set up to try to establish a floor of decency for everyone in the sector. They take pride in saying they will have nothing to do with JLCs or having to speak to trade unions. I put it to the Minister that in 2019 that is not acceptable. I would like him to be very clear in agreeing with me in his response that it is not acceptable for hotel and restaurant bosses to ignore the industrial relations machinery of the State was set up by the previous coalition. I give credit to the Labour Party for getting that done.

Only last week an IHF representative appeared before an Oireachtas committee and took pride in saying that a service charge has nothing to do with the employees who provide the service, that it is the business of the bosses of the restaurants and hotels what they do with that charge and that it should not go to the workers unless that is what the bosses decide. That comment has gone viral on Facebook. We could have a sustainable tourism industry if we put a decent floor on conditions and pay. It has happened in the contract cleaning and security sectors where there are agreements between employers and unions. Those industries have not fallen to pieces and, instead, have gone from strength to strength. People are better paid and have better conditions. However, there is no way hotel or restaurant bosses will agree to anything similar. The nub of the issue is all we have from the Minister of State or the Government is silence. They should say to them that if they want more money from the Government and supports for Brexit, they should talk to their workers and the trade unions and use the industrial relations machinery of the State to establish a floor of decency for everyone in the sector. My colleague from Kerry mentioned chefs. I know what the problem with chefs is because officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation told the same committee that the bosses will not pay decent wages and, therefore, the chefs have voted with their feet and are going to other countries where they will be paid a decent wage.

There was a significant omission in the Minister of State's speech. He should have mentioned the rights of the workers in the industry. There are 180,000 workers in the industry, most of whom are on the minimum wage with many on precarious work contracts. The Minister of State has the power to do something about it. It will not be easy. He will find resistance from the employer bodies but he could send a signal today by condemning them unequivocally for refusing to engage with the JLC process and by calling on them to do so. He could also send a message that if they do not engage, they cannot expect unbridled support from this Government. There will be enough Members speaking on behalf of the bosses and what they need. Sinn Féin will stand up for the workers.