A change in the law is needed: Oxfam and Newsnight expose the exploitation of workers in the hospitality industry
July 31st, 2009 by Matt Genner Posted in Livelihoods
Basia Mowisha, a 24-year-old Polish migrant, has worked in many of London’s top hotels. She came to the UK to work hard and make a better life for herself. But like so many others working in the cleaning and catering industry she was exploited, facing gruelling conditions and poor pay. In recent weeks Oxfam has been helping Newsnight investigate the treatment of hotel cleaners by their employers. As part of Newsnight’s report, which aired last night, Basia described the conditions she faced.
“I was appalled at what I experienced,” she said. “The supervisors treated us like cattle. Often there were no cleaning products and we had to use whatever came to hand, like shampoos or shower gels for the guest rooms. We were often in tears when we were cleaning the rooms, but we had to grit our teeth. We had to work. We had families to support.”
Basia and the other workers interviewed by Newsnight provide the human face to a tragedy which has gone on for far too long. As undercover reporter, Andrew Bromford, sifted through the timesheets of cleaners at London’s Park Plaza the extent of their unjust treatment became even clearer. Employee after employee had been underpaid as hours of hard work somehow mysteriously disappeared when their salaries were calculated. Many were getting paid less than the minimum wage, this was not just immoral but illegal.
Newsnight’s report helps to shed light on the plight of those working in the hotel industry. But it is not just this sector in which workers are being exploited. Oxfam’s report, Turning the Tide, found similar practices in construction and social care. In construction, severe and systematic violations of health and safety procedures are common, with repeated instances of threats to sack workers if they raise concerns. In hospitality, workers are paid by the room, rather than the hour and are expected to clean more rooms than is feasible. In care, excessive hours of work are particularly prevalent; some are working nearly 100 hours per week. This is not just about one hotel, one city or one company. It is much more widespread. And that is why these sectors need to be regulated.
The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) is a strong and effective regulator which has successfully helped those working in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, shellfish gathering and food processing and packaging. Thanks to their work thousands of workers are now safer, better paid and more humanly treated. But due to this success gangmasters are now moving into and expanding their role in other areas. To end the exploitation exposed by Oxfam and Newsnight, it is now time for the law to be changed so that an expanded GLA can also help people like Basia and the thousands of people working in hospitality, construction and care.
If you missed Newsnight’s investigation you can watch it again by clicking the link below:
Exploitation of workers at top hotels
