Greek workers in tourism and food service are leaving the country in search of better working conditions and higher pay in the Seychelles, Monaco, Switzerland and even Spain. Workers in the sector described the exodus alongside a range of ways in which labour laws are being circumvented and the Digital Work Card (DWC) misused in tourism and food service.
At a news conference held yesterday by the Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers (POEET), the federation highlighted the lack of effective inspections to identify and curb unlawful practices by some businesses, which are also creating unfair competition.
Workers’ representatives made specific allegations concerning hotels across the country, where widespread breaches of labour laws were reported during this year’s tourist season, including violations of collective bargaining agreements, improper use of the Digital Work Card, the abolition of the 11-hour rest period, exhausting working hours, entirely undeclared work and the imposition of seven-day working weeks.
Union representatives also accused agencies that “import” workers from third countries of demanding, in collusion with employers, that recruited workers pay back part of their wages, mainly overtime pay and bonuses. The workers were also subjected to workplace intimidation, with inspections inadequate to address the problem.
In detail, workers’ representatives made the following allegations:
- Many businesses do not use the Digital Work Card system. Tourism businesses have been found to keep workers’ DWCs at reception or in the company’s accounts department. There are also cases where the clock-ins show a five-day week and eight-hour shifts, even though the employee works seven days a week. In other reported cases, the 11-hour rest period is not observed: employees work a night shift until midnight and start work again at 7am the following morning.
- Collective agreements are not being implemented. Two agreements, covering bakers and pastry chefs, have so far not been extended to the entire sector. In addition, by using a different business activity code, many companies leave workers “uncovered”.
- Seasonal workers face problems during the winter months. Unemployment benefit is paid for three months, which is not enough when the tourist season lasts six to seven months on average.
- Workers are leaving the sector for countries with better working conditions and higher wages.
- Inspection mechanisms are inadequate, with a severe shortage of labour inspectors carrying out checks.
- Workers from third countries are being exploited. According to POEET, about 9,000 recruited workers, mainly from the Philippines, are employed on Rhodes. There are reports that they work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, for €700-€800 a month. In some cases, they have been required to pay 10% of their wages to the companies that arranged their recruitment, to cover travel costs of about €5,000 from their home country to Greece.
- Wages are being reclaimed. Some businesses demand the return of bonuses and allowances, while in other cases an extra payment made one month is described as an “accounting error” the next.
- Workplace intimidation. There are reports of a business owner in Halkidiki changing the locks to prevent some employees from entering their workplace because he wanted to dismiss them. On Rhodes, working mothers and pregnant women were pressured to resign so the businesses could “avoid” paying benefits.
It is estimated that more than 80,000 jobs in tourism remain unfilled, not only because the tourism sector is growing but also because workers are leaving to take up the same occupations in competing countries.
The union in Heraklion has reported that about 500 chefs have left to work abroad. The most common destinations, offering better working conditions and higher pay, are the Seychelles, Monaco, Switzerland and Spain. This season, there were also reports of approaches from Istanbul seeking to recruit Greek chefs.
It should be noted that 540,000 people work in food service and tourism (more than 400,000 in food service and about 140,000 in hotels). Estimates put the number of job vacancies at more than 83,000 (53,000 in hotels and 30,000 in food service).
POEET union representatives said they would seek meetings with the relevant government officials in the coming period and would try to reach an understanding with employers in the presence of representatives from the relevant ministries. If no agreement is reached, they will call strikes and stage protests at archaeological sites, ports and airports during the new summer tourist season.