ILO Standards & activity

The ILO specialists on hotels, catering and tourism in the Sectoral Activities Department promote decent work in this sector by assisting ILO constituents in developing appropriate policies and programmes. They are guided by the Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention, 1991 (No. 172) and associated Recommendation (No. 179). These instruments are geared towards issues such as working time (overtime regulations and rest periods as well as reconciliation of working time with family life), regular remuneration (wages v. tips), and on the promotion of training schemes in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations. Through advisory services, the ILO specialists promote tripartite consultation and help to strengthen appropriate modalities.

In 1997, the ILO organized a Tripartite Sectoral Meeting on the Effects of New Technologies on Employment and Working Conditions in the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Sector.

In April 2001, another Tripartite Meeting was held in Geneva on Human Resource Development, Employment and Globalization in the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Sector with the purpose of exchanging views between representatives from governments and employers' as well as workers' organizations on policies and methods of human resource development, employment creation and globalization in the hotel, catering and tourism sector. The meeting used a report prepared by the Office as the basis for its discussions. The meeting also adopted conclusions that include proposals for action by governments, by employers' and workers' organizations at the national level, and by the ILO, as well as resolutions on the following:

• measures to promote employment in the hotel, catering and tourism sector during the low season, including vacation programmes for senior citizens;
• improving occupational equality for men and women in the hotel, catering and tourism sector; and
• occupational health and safety in the hotel, catering and tourism sector.

These outcomes and a report on the discussion are included in the Meeting's forthcoming Note on the Proceedings.