Hotels, Catering And Tourism Sector

One of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy is the hotels, catering and tourism sector. It is also among the top-job creating sectors because its labor intensive nature has a significant multiplier effect on employment in other related sectors. Yet, the sector has a reputation of poor working conditions due to a number of factors: it is a fragmented industry with a majority of employers small and medium sized enterprises with low union density. The work is characterized by low wages and low levels of skill requirement. Close cooperation with other UN Agencies, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the main constituents IHRA (International Human Resource Organization) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) are crucial for successful works, shift and night work and seasonality.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), consider that:

· Tourism is one of the world’s top job creators

 · Tourism is a lead export sector

 · Tourism is an important agent for development.

· Tourism can help the transition to a Green Economy

In response to the current challenges faced by tourism and employment worldwide and to the global economic crisis, ILO and UNWTO agree on the following points:

 1. Sustainable tourism continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors of economic activities in modern times, generating a wide range of benefits for tourism host and tourist generating countries and destinations, including employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and contribution to GDP.

 2. The well established resilience of tourism can help to alleviate the effects of the sharp economic downturn observed in other employment sectors resulting from the current financial and economic crisis. Thus, tourism can and should be used by governments and international financial institutions to reactivate the economies of countries affected by the current recession, especially by offering fresh, green and decent job opportunities.

3. ILO and UNWTO refer specifically to the ILO Resolution, “ Recovering from the crisis: A Global Jobs Pact” which stresses that: “Our response should contribute to a fair globalization, a greener economy and development that more effectively creates jobs and sustainable enterprises, respects workers` rights, promotes gender equality, protects vulnerable people...” (ILO Resolution 2009)

 4. Employment in the tourism industry should include not only job creation but decent and productive work in sustainable enterprises through national and local tourism development strategies, new tourism products and services, with high labor content, high labor multiplying impact and a high level of sustainability.

 5. All stakeholders should collaborate in order to improve employment regulations and working conditions in the tourism industries, in line with the Employment and Decent Work agenda originally developed by ILO and subsequently accepted widely by the UN system. Stakeholders should also ensure safety, equality and human dignity as well as adequate levels of remuneration in tourism employment, framed in a wider ratification of the ILO Convention No. 172 on Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) by countries. Member States of both UN agencies are therefore encouraged to ratify and implement the minimum standards of the ILO Convention 172.

6. Human resource development in tourism should be given priority attention by tourism businesses and trade unions, within the framework of sectoral social dialogue at all levels and supported by governments and educational institutions. People entering the tourism labor market should be given the opportunity to develop a rewarding career, to advance their professionalism and, altogether, the security of a decent work. Improved labor market information can play a crucial role in all these developments.

7. Tourism has been recognized as one of the largest generators of employment, especially for those segments of the population with less access to labor market, such as women, young people, immigrants and rural populations. There is a need for accurate, timely and comprehensive data on employment in the tourism industries. To this end, governments and the private sector should cooperate to ensure the proper measurement of employment in the tourism industries including: the number of jobs directly generated by tourism, hours of work, compensation and the seasonality of employment. This data should also be disaggregated by gender, age, occupation, business type and size.

8. Tourism employment policies and statistics should refer to direct and indirect jobs generated by a diverse range of different activities, products, services, locations and size of companies.

9. Based on the cooperation agreement signed in December 2008, ILO and UNWTO will therefore carry out the following joint activities:

 · Undertake action programs in two or three pilot countries to enhance the decent work potential of tourism

· Cooperate on HIV/AIDS, Child Labor, Gender policy and other cross-cutting issues in tourism

· Continue the development of specialized tourism employment statistics

Answer the questions:

1. What makes the fastest growing sectors of the global economy?

2. How does tourism impact the solution of social problems?

3. What are the weakest points of tourist industry?

4. What organizations unite together to solve problems?

5. How do they try to response to the current challenges?

6. Is tourism a help to the poorer population with less access to labor market?

7. What must the governments do to ensure the proper measurement of employment in the tourism industries?

8. When was the cooperation agreement signed between ILO and UNWTO?

9. What does the cooperation agreement include?

10. Will this collaboration improve employment /unemployment problems?

Competence Development

Задание 1.

Обобщите информацию об изученных международных организациях, заполнив сводную таблицу. Сделайте обзорное сообщение. С какими историческими событиями в мире, по вашему мнению, связано возникновение данных международных организаций