Hotels body calls for wage setting 'quango' to be scrapped

PAY:IRISH HOTELS Federation (IHF) chief executive Tim Fenn has called for the abolition of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system following a decision by the Government to review the hotel sector's wage agreements.

Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton signalled this week that the last government’s cut in the minimum wage will be reversed, but it will have to be paid for by re-examining wage agreements which include the restaurant and hotel industries.

The IHF has been a long term critic of JLCs – which establish rates of pay for certain sections of employment, including the hotel industry – pointing out that double time payments on Sundays (or one-third extra added to the hourly rate in some areas), are uncompetitive and a deterrent to opening on that day of the week.

Mr Fenn said JLCs for the hotel industry do not operate in Dublin or Cork, but do in the rest of the country which is suffering disproportionately as a result of the recession.

JLCs are the subject of an independent review which is part of the EU/IMF bailout terms aimed at making Ireland more competitive.

Mr Fenn rejected the notion that JLCs should not be reviewed. “Let’s be clear about this, they should be abolished. The legislation governing employment in this country should be the primary legislation, such as the Minimum Wages Act, and not the findings of some quango that sets these wage agreements.”

Earlier this year the IHF found that minimum wages for the hotel sector placed Ireland second in Europe in terms of cost and that 72 per cent of hotels in Ireland have reduced their staff.

The IHF said the present system amounted to an effective minimum wage ranging from €9.09 to €10.26 per hour for hotels and guesthouses nationwide, with the exception of Dublin city, Cork and Dún Laoghaire.

Any attempt to dismantle JLCs is likely to be fiercely opposed by SIPTU which represents most hotel workers.

SIPTU president Jack O’Connor described the proposal as a “scandalous betrayal of hundreds of thousands of the lowest paid, most vulnerable workers in the country”.

He added: “It seems that its solution to the reckless profligacy of the rich is the crucifixion of the lowest paid and most vulnerable.”