As part of the EU-funded Stronger Hospitality project, our recent webinar brought together 45 participants from 18 countries to address the challenges faced by young workers in the hospitality sector and explore strategies for trade union engagement.
The hospitality sector is characterised by a predominantly young workforce, which often faces exploitation, precarious working conditions, and low wages. Many young workers are unaware of their rights, resulting in low unionisation rates and limited opportunities to have their voices heard. Mobilising these workers is therefore critical for strengthening trade union efforts in this sector.
The webinar served as a platform to identify the specific challenges confronting young hospitality workers and to share best practices from EFFAT affiliates on successfully organising and recruiting them.
Key Insights and Discussions
The event began with an introduction by Enrico Somaglia, EFFAT General Secretary, who highlighted the organisation’s main priorities for the tourism sector. These include addressing mass tourism, reducing seasonality, ensuring a just transition, regulating digital platforms, and strengthening collective bargaining to improve wages and working conditions.
CELSI, our project expert, together with ADAPT, presented findings from desk research that illuminated why young hospitality workers often remain unorganised.
In the first panel discussion, young affiliates from Germany, Cyprus, and Poland shared concrete examples of the daily struggles young hospitality workers face, including:
- Job insecurity
- Low wages or unpaid overtime
- Lack of access to sick leave, holiday leave, or retirement benefits
- Atypical and unsocial working hours
- Limited recognition or career prospects
- Exploitation, particularly by management
- Mental health and addiction issues
- Safety concerns, especially for those working outside
These challenges underscored the urgent need for trade unions to advocate for better working conditions and wages, improved apprenticeships, and clear career progression pathways. Collective bargaining was highlighted as a powerful tool for achieving these objectives.
Innovative Strategies for Recruitment and Engagement
The second part of the webinar featured affiliates from the UK, Italy, Denmark, Austria, and Serbia, who shared innovative strategies for recruiting and engaging young workers, including:
- Global campaigns in the fast-food sector, such as initiatives that have significantly improved conditions for Starbucks workers in Serbia.
- Campaigns targeting third-party violence and sexual harassment, which disproportionately affect young women in hospitality. Examples included UNITE’s “Get Me Home Safely” campaign in the UK and VIDA’s “Kein Respekt, Kein Service” initiative in Austria.
- FILCAMS CGIL’s “Mettiamo il turismo sotto sopra” campaign in Italy, which focuses on directly involving young hospitality workers in trade union activities.
- Tailored trade union structures, such as UNITE’s Hospitality Combine, designed to address the specific needs of young members in hospitality.
- 3F’s #ElevernesOK initiative in Denmark, which introduces trade unions in hospitality schools, engages directly with students, and incorporates their needs into collective bargaining agreements.
The webinar also included presentations by IUF and EFFAT, who outlined their work at the global and European levels to involve more young people, mobilise young workers through global campaigns, and advocate for a better future for young workers in hospitality.
A Platform for Change
This webinar provided a valuable platform for young people—the driving force of the hospitality sector—to voice their concerns and share their experiences. It also reinforced the essential role of trade union action in supporting young workers, ensuring fair working conditions, and creating better opportunities for the future.
