Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the information in relation to the application of Articles 4, 5 and 7 of the Convention.

Article 3, paragraph 1. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the recently enacted reform of the statutory severance pay scheme for all private sector employees, thus including employees in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. According to the new Severance Pay and Pensions Fund Act, which was adopted in June 2002, all private sector employees who conclude an employment relationship from 1 January 2003 onwards are entitled to severance pay from their second month of employment and they may freely transfer and maintain such entitlement in a new employment relationship, whereas under the former scheme employees with less than three years’ continuous service with the same employer were excluded from any eligibility for severance pay. The Committee understands the advantages that the new system may represent for a sector characterized by the high mobility of employees, such as the hotel, restaurant and catering sector, where the majority of employees were formerly deprived of any severance benefit for not having worked sufficiently long for the same employer. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to further improve the working conditions in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. It would particularly appreciate receiving additional information on existing national training schemes and programmes designed to improve the skills and enhance the career prospects of those employed in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry.

Article 8. The Committee notes that the Government refers to supplementary collective agreements concluded as of 1 January 2001 for workers employed in the hotel and catering trade with a view to extending the duration of employment of seasonal workers by two weeks. The Committee understands that the last national agreement for the tourism sector was concluded in 1999 and replaced the various provincial agreements which had been concluded in 1997 and 1998. The Committee therefore requests the Government to transmit copies of all relevant collective agreements currently in force.

Point V of the report form. The Committee notes the information regarding the evolution of the total number of persons in dependent employment in the hotel and restaurant sector in the period 1998-2001. It also notes the labour inspection statistics for the same period showing that by far the most frequent infringements of labour legislation in the hotel and restaurant industry concern working time, rest periods and the employment of young persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide all available information bearing on the practical application of the Convention, including extracts from official reports and recent studies on the employment conditions in the hotel and catering sector, difficulties of enforcement reported by the inspection services and any other particulars which would enable the Committee to better evaluate the conformity of national law and practice with the requirements of the Convention.