Industrial Relations in Hotels and Catering: Neglect and Paradox?

Abstract

Given that hotels and catering comprise an importantpart of the service sector representing the changing face of the economy, their neglect in industrial relations discourse about the 'new' industrial relations is no longer sustainable. Previously unpublished data from the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey 1990 (WIRS3) have provided the first opportunity for systematic analysis and evaluation of employment relationship issues in the industry and finds them to be different from those observed elsewhere in the economy. Consequently, hotels and catering can be said to manifest a predominance of 'unbridled individualism' associated with (poor' industrial relations outcomes which, paradoxically, exist alongside an above average presence of personnel specialists.

Personnel management in hotels—an update: a move to human resource management?

“…(The foreign-owned hotels were also large empoyers, ranging in size from 117 to 404 employees, with an average of 265.) Although there was a considerable range, many establishments only reported employing fairly small numbers of part-time staff, contrary to typical profiles of the industrty's workforce (Lucas, 1996). The majority of respondents (87%) indicated that the numbers of full-time staff did not vary significantly throughout the year, suggesting relatively little adjustment to seasonal fluctuations.…”

“…' (1995, p. 27) Second, ownership of the hotel company also emerges as an important factor, with foreignowned firms apparently taking a more enlightened approach. Lucas andLaycock (1991, 1992) argue that there is evidence of foreignowned firms pursuing a more sophisticated approach. Price (1994, p. 58) also claims that these untis are more sophisticated in their approach to the management of people than their UK counterparts, and goes on to argue that the improvements evident in larger establishments were 'to counter the potential threat posed by foreign-owned international hotel groups which are already increasing their share of the UK market'.…”

“…Based on the findings of two surveys, she presents evidence of poor practice in personnel management ['good' practice simply being defined as that adhering to practices required, or encouraged by, legal provisions (p. 48)], and the persistence of the kinds of employment practices which have led to the industry's image as a poor employer. Lucas (1996), also based on an analysis of the WIRS3 data, points out that this so-called poor practice is prevalent despite, in comparison to other industry sectors, the relatively high presence of specialist HR/ personnel managers. Christianson Hughes (1996) shares the pessimism of Purcell (1993), arguing that in spite of espoused rhetoric to the contrary by some hotel companies, short-term financial pressures make the pursuance of any longer term, coherent approach to the management of HR almost impossible.…”

Unionisation in the Dublin hotel industry

“…Lucas (1996) has argued that the almost daily demand¯uctuations within the UK sector provide the basis for a workforce substantiated by part-time and casual workers from the secondary labour market. Together with high labour turnover levels such conditions provide probably the key barriers to unionisation within the industry (Byrne, 1986;Gabriel, 1988).…”

“…Furthermore, contrary to popular perception the serious injury rates of hotel workers were found to be four times higher than those recorded amongst construction workers and correlated directly to low levels of unionisation (Cully et al, 1998). It is an industry then that, as Lucas (1996) argues, re¯ects an`extreme example of British industrial relations' (Lucas, 1996, p. 268), which might best be portrayed by Sissons' (1993, p. 207)`bleak house' typology.…”