Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention, 1991 (No. 172) - Austria (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee notes the comments of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK) on the Government’s report. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Articles 4 and 8 of the Convention.Hours of work and rest periods. Application in practice. The Committee notes the signing of a new sectoral collective agreement for workers in the hotel and catering sector, effective as of 1 November 2024. It notes that this agreement reflects the new legislative provisions on working time and rest periods. In this regard, while the WKÖ considers that the Convention is being applied, the AK notes that the vast majority of requests for advice on labour law addressed to the Vienna Chamber of Labour come from workers in the hotel and catering sector and concern the application of national legislation, particularly with regard to excessive and/or unpaid overtime, the lack of breaks and distribution of hours of work, as well as incorrect declarations to social security bodies, undeclared work, and a lack of payslips or incorrect payslips. The Committee also notes that the AK refers to the situation of delivery service workers, indicating that their rights are not respected, as the intermediary enterprises that distribute orders to drivers and delivery workers sign very few employment contracts. It indicates that: (1) by virtue of their duties, such workers should be regarded as part of the catering sector; and (2) the first collective agreement to apply to bicycle couriers has been concluded, thus creating a means of combating their exploitation. The Committee observes that the hotel and catering sector in general faces a number of challenges and the need to improve labour standards and strengthen their application to ensure decent working conditions for all workers in the sector. The Committee therefore requests the Government to respond to these allegations of substantial and repeated violations of national regulations governing work in this sector and, where appropriate, to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this regard. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Guidelines on general principles of labour inspection and notes that various types of good practice can strengthen the role of the labour inspectorate and compliance with the regulations governing work in this sector, including by: (i) increasing the number of labour inspectors and providing them with continuous training to ensure that they are well equipped to identify and deal with violations of labour standards, taking into consideration the specific nature of work in the sector in question; (ii) introducing digital management systems to monitor inspections, complaints and results to improve coordination and ensure a more rapid response to violations; (iii) informing employers and employees of their rights and obligations, including through awareness-raising campaigns to help prevent violations before they occur; (iv) applying strict penalties for violations of labour standards and offering incentives to enterprises that comply with regulations, including by introducing rewards for exemplary enterprises; (v) working closely with relevant government agencies, and workers’ and employers’ organizations to improve the enforcement of labour laws; and (vi) using data to focus inspections on the sectors and enterprises most at risk of violations in order to optimize resources and have a greater impact.