President of the Hotel and Personnel Services Senior Staff Association (HAPSSSA), Comrade Iyeh William Adegbe, has appealed to the federal government to rescue the sector from current casualisation, outsourcing and contract staffing prevalent in the hospitality sector.
Appealing to the federal government to create a more conducive business environment for the hospitality industry to thrive, Adegbe emphasised that contract staffing, outsourcing and casualisation are the main concern of the union since they have direct and indirect consequences on welfare of the workers in the sector.
He noted that though the industry has a promising growth, most management have systematically been adjusting their rooms and halls in order to maximise profits at the expense of the comfortability of guests.
Blaming high cost of running the hospitality business amidst epileptic electricity, coupled with high cost of fuel and diesel across the country as reasons for the casualisation and contract staffing, Adegbe said creating a more conducive business environment by government would help to tackle the casualisation and contract staffing that are almost becoming the norm in the sector.
He lamented the systemic denial of unionism for workers in the industry as most employers in the sector are not in unionisation compliance.
As a result, he said the union is seeking collaborative efforts with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to tackle anti-unionisation of employers, casualisation, contract staffing and outsourcing in the sector.
According to him, most multinational hotel chains in Nigeria have introduced obnoxious practices aimed at weakening the strength of labour in the hotel industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that they now resort to massive casualisation, outsourcing and contract form of employment against decent workplace practice.
“As for the economic situation presently, it is obvious that most hotels run on diesel because they cannot afford to keep customers in darkness. So, the hotel owners definitely experience a surge in their expenditure on a monthly basis coupled with the increment on electricity tariffs in the country,” he said.
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