VOICE OF THE
WORKERS ISSUE 16 APRIL 2014
Contents Service, no matter what?
03
The impact of Tourism
04
The European Union’s Tourism Policy
06
Achieving Competitiveness in the Tourism Sector
07
Tourism and the EU
08
Tourism and its Workers EVERYBODY AGREES. TOURISM IS VITAL TO THE MALTESE ECONOMY. IT PROVIDES WORK FOR MALTESE AND FOREIGNERS ALIKE; IT IS A MAJOR REVENUE EARNER, AND A HOST OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OWE THEIR LIVELIHOOD TO IT Tourism has always been an opportunity for Malta, and its flexibility as a tourist destination is the envy of others. It’s not just sun and sea. It’s culture, religion, sports, business, health and leisure. However, not all that glitters is gold. We need to be aware of the price we might be paying for this success. Some costs might be inevitable; others are definitely not worth it, and are outright dangerous. Unfortunately, behind the attractive façade, there lie a number of hidden realities that are not apparent to a service user or people outside the industry. VOICE OF THE
WORKERS
Workers in the tourist industry are scattered all over the island, in different organizations, many of which are micro, and some are relatively large. The work they do is very different, and many workers cannot be categorized into a specific work genre. The scattered workforce in the tourist industry makes worker organization and solidarity a challenge. Also, work is so diverse, that work contracts differ widely. These include workers who are contracted, sub-contracted, parttime, full-time indefinite contracts, full-time with definite contracts, seasonal contracts, and workers who are engaged according to
EDITOR’S NOTE JOSEF VELLA
demand, sometimes illegally. This variety makes standardization and basic worker rights difficult to achieve. This is not to say that there are no workers in the sector organized in trade unions. But the fact is that an ever-growing sector of workers in the tourist sector goes unregulated. Another aspect worthy of discussion is the fact that a decreasing number of Maltese workers are willing to work in the tourist sector. This can be due, among others, to changing lifestyles as well as a changing work ethic. Less people would be willing to work on Sundays and 1