The AK OÖ demands better pay and fair, healthy working conditions in gastronomy and tourism in order to combat the self-inflicted labor shortage, as President Andreas Stangl and study director Johanna Neuhauser explained in a press conference on Tuesday in Linz. “Three percent of the members, but 50 percent of the legal acts” would be accounted for in the AK by the catering industry, said Stangl. 32 employees or former employees in the Upper Austrian gastronomy and hotel industry took part in the study by the Institute for Sociology at the University of Vienna in summer 2022. Stangl emphasized that this showed that the labor shortage was self-inflicted. One participant confirmed that there were enough staff in Austria, “you should just pay them properly, then there will be no more whining, because I can’t find anyone”. Neuhauser explained that the shortage of skilled workers has increased since the pandemic, compared to summer 2019, slightly more people were employed in the industry in 2022, but more jobs were also advertised.
Neuhauser gave an insight into the stories of the 21 female and eleven male study participants, who testify to an industry culture characterized by a bad working atmosphere, a rough tone and a lack of appreciation. Due to the frequent understaffing, people often work sick, and the way work accidents are dealt with is also shocking. A kitchen helper who injured herself while mincing meat said the boss didn’t take care of it. “Then another worker came and tied my hand,” “because it was most important to her that the work continued.”
Apprentices and migrants are being exploited as cheap labour, and one of the study participants was employed as a temporary help in the service for months while she was training to be a receptionist. “A lot of people said to me at the vocational school that they would quit. They only take the final apprenticeship exam and that was it,” confirmed a chef from his many years of experience that apprentices are often just errand boys. “We need proper training companies,” he demanded. A migrant who wanted to resign because she couldn’t learn much in the company heard: nobody will take you, you can’t work anywhere else because of your knowledge of German. only i take you […].”
Shared shifts, a lack of predictability, frequent overtime and short rest periods made it difficult to reconcile family and private life, Neuhauser explained. In addition, there is the relatively low salary, with a gross median wage of 1,650 euros, a third below the average. According to the Working Climate Index of the AK Upper Austria, two out of three employees in catering trades stated even before the exploding wave of inflation that they could barely live on their income or not at all. In order to save costs, employees are registered below their qualifications; Part-time wages for full-time work, unpaid overtime, incorrectly issued duty rosters, manipulation of records, sick leave as vacation days and dubious all-in agreements are so commonplace that companies with transparent payout practices and payments that go beyond collective agreements stand out positively.
Among other things, the AK calls for the daily rest period to be increased to eleven or twelve hours again after it was reduced to eight in 2018, and for quality assurance in dual apprenticeship training. The AMS should not place jobseekers in companies with systematic labor law violations. In the first month of unemployment, companies should bear the costs of unemployment benefits in order to prevent the practice of short-term termination and re-employment and to create longer employment relationships.
Source: Nachrichten
