Alarming conditions for apprentices in the hotel and restaurant sector
Austria-wide survey of vida Youth:
The Austrian trade union vida carried out a survey on working conditions and training of apprentices in the hotel and restaurant sector. For the survey, all apprentices in the scope of the collective agreement for the hotel and restaurant sector were contacted. Altogether 2,510 persons participated in the survey.
The survey results are alarming:
75 percent of apprentices under 18 years indicated that they work overtime each month, although this is prohibited under children and youth labour law. Even the evening and night rest is often ignored. Amongst the under 16-year-olds nearly one third has to occasionally work longer than 11 pm. According to the law, for this age group work up to 8 pm is allowed. Female apprentices are very often given tasks which are not related to their training, e.g. watering flowers or cleaning windows. Only 27 percent of female apprentices said that this was never the case, compared to 37 percent for male apprentices. Male apprentices are ahead with regard to overtime as well as Sunday work. More than two thirds judged the remuneration for apprentices as insufficient. 62 percent intend to go work in another company after finishing the training, another 16 percent even want to leave the industry.
Vida comments on the survey results:
"Given such conditions it is not surprising that most of the
young people want to change after the apprenticeship. Who wants that
young people stay in the tourism sector after their training, has to
treat them well from the outset. The disregard for the rights of
apprentices is widespread; it is to blame for the lack of
attractiveness of the industry.
To speak about only a few 'black sheep' among the companies
does not reflect the situation correctly. The entire industry is
invited to a rethink."
The vida Youth calls on the rigorous compliance with the provisions on the protection of apprentices in the collective agreements and in children and youth labour law, as well as more frequent inspections of the labour inspectorate.