{"id":34332,"date":"2018-06-11T17:57:28","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T16:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/?p=34332"},"modified":"2019-06-11T18:02:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T17:02:10","slug":"london-hotels-to-treat-their-staff-fairly-and-pay-a-living-wage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2018\/06\/london-hotels-to-treat-their-staff-fairly-and-pay-a-living-wage\/","title":{"rendered":"London Hotels to Treat Their Staff Fairly and Pay a Living Wage"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"London<\/p>\r\n

I<\/span>t is a national scandal that London, in terms of hotel workers, is now one of the most \u2018unethical\u2019 tourist destinations in the world. In comparison in New York, which has many similarities to London, the hotel workers have safe, secure and very well paid employment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There is no reason why the big names in London hotels cannot pay their staff a decent wage.\u00a0The hoteliers need to know that \u00a34 for 37 minutes work to clean a room is unethical and unacceptable<\/strong>\u00a0(and raise doubts about how clean the room really is).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Over the last few years there have been a series of exposes in the broadsheets about the poor working conditions of the workers who clean the rooms in London\u2019s franchised hotels.\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0in May 2015<\/a>, reported an interview, with six Polish women who worked at the four-star Park Plaza Hotel near County Hall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cFour months ago, as employees of Hotelcare, \u201cwhere first-class service comes as standard\u201d, they were paid \u00a36.50 an hour to clean 13 rooms in eight hours, every day, five days a week\u2013 a long way short of the London living wage of \u00a39.15 an hour. Then the contract was taken over by another cleaning services company, WGC, \u201cservicing over 10 million hotel rooms a year\u201d, including Claridges and the Hilton. The women say they were assured there would be no change. Now, they clean 15 to 17 bedrooms in seven and a half hours a day; more work, less pay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Thirteen rooms in eight hours , that\u2019s an ensuite room, and they are often left in a state by the guests.\u00a0So that\u2019s 37 minutes per room,<\/strong>\u00a0not allowing for clocking on and off and getting to and between the rooms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Look at that the other way and it is \u00a34 to clean the room<\/strong>, is that reasonable as a proportion of the cost of staying is an international hotel chain room in London. London is an expensive place to visit and an expensive place to live. The owners and managers refuse to recognise the issue of low pay and exploitation in hotels which trumpet their sustainability credentials.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This from the\u00a0New Statesman<\/a>\u00a0in March 2016<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cAs wealthy guests bed in for a lucrative business trip or luxurious city break, those who clean their rooms and make their visit comfortable are being exploited. Many high-profile global hotel chains employ their London staff via agencies, which break employment law to keep their profits as high as possible. Common employment abuses reported by workers and union representatives include forcing employees to work overtime with no extra pay, being denied holiday days, refusal to pay for sick leave, unfair dismissals, breaking or changing contracts without notice, and even failing to supply a contract at all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In January 2013 the Institute for Human Rights and Business, which helped launch the Staff Wanted Initiative, called on major UK hotel chains to clean up their act and take more responsibility to stop the mistreatment and exploitation of agency workers in hotels. In 2014 the International Tourism Partnership, which has most of the major franchises in membership, identified health and safety and labour rights as top issues industry stakeholders felt hoteliers needed to address.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In August 2016 London mayor, Sadiq Khan was urged to put his \u2018economic fairness\u2019 pledge to the top of the agenda by tackling the exploitative work practices in London\u2019s multi-billion pound hotel industry by Unite. Peter Kavanagh, Unite London regional secretary said of the\u00a0\u201cunethical\u201d London hotel sector<\/strong>\u00a0that it<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201c\u2026 is failing its workforce. It has become a byword for low pay and exploitation. If these stories tell us anything, it is that shameful work practices, similar to those exposed at Sports Direct, have no place in 21st century Britain.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cTo its collective shame, not a single hotel in the capital pays the London Living Wage of \u00a39.40 per hour. No collective agreement has been signed since the 1980s. Low pay, zero hour contracts and open hostility to trade unions have become standard practice, making London one of the most unethical tourist destinations in the world.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt is a sad fact that hotel workers in places, like Manila and Buenos Aires, are shown more respect when it comes to their basic human and trade union rights, than workers in the capital of the world\u2019s fifth largest economy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You can read about Unite\u2019s 2016 Unethical London campaign\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Read about Unite\u2019s latest campaign\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Download the report, published May 1st 2019\u00a0Unthethical IHG Report (1)<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A snapshot of the report findings:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n