Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention, 1991 (No. 172) - Ireland (Ratification: 1998)

Article 3(1) of the Convention. National policy for hotel and restaurant workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning the judgment of the High Court of 7 July 2011 that struck down as unconstitutional all 17 employment regulation orders, including those applicable to hotel and catering workers. It also notes that following this judgment, the Government adopted the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 which provides for a new system for statutory wage setting and which mandates the Labour Court to review the ten existing joint labour committees (JLCs) – bipartite bodies that previously determined minimum rates of pay and conditions of work for workers in certain sectors. The Government indicates that the Labour Court completed the review of the JLCs, including the three JLCs for the hotel and catering sector, in 2013 and submitted its report to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for consideration. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments in this regard, and to transmit copies of any new texts, legislative or others, which may be adopted with respect to pay and employment conditions in the hotel and catering sector.

In addition, the Committee understands that the economic and financial crisis has significantly affected the hotel and restaurant sector. According to statistical information published in 2012 by the European Industrial Relations Observatory, in the hotel sector occupancy levels reached a 15 year low in 2008 and employment levels dropped by about 18,000 in the period 2007–10, thus putting pressure on pay rates, premiums and terms and conditions set down in sectoral wage mechanisms. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the impact of the crisis on the hotel and catering industry, the key challenges and trends and any targeted measures aimed at limiting job losses and the deterioration of employment conditions.