Employment and industrial relations in tourism examined

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Spain's tourism industry has grown rapidly in recent years, and now represents 12% of GDP. However, in 2005 it is showing the first signs of exhaustion of demand and facing increasing international competition. The rapid growth is also thought to have created problems related to employment, urban and regional development, the environment and culture. Trade unions are calling for greater job stability and less seasonal work in order to offer a service of greater quality that focuses less on low prices. The employers call for labour flexibility and a general increase in the promotion of the sector.

Spain is a major tourist venue because of its good climate, coasts, historic cities and natural features. The growth of tourism, major improvement in transport and communications and the opening of European borders have led to great economic prosperity for many parts of Spain. Enormous numbers of tourists visit the 'Mediterranean Arc' (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia) and the Balearic and Canary Islands. A large number also visit Madrid. In 2004, the sector represented 12% of Spanish GDP, 12.2% of the active population and 20% of the service sector. Details on employment in tourism are set out in table 1 below.

Source: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade (Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio) and Survey of the Active Population (Encuesta de Población Activa, EPA) - National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE).

The profile of a 'typical' employee in hotels and catering and travel agencies is that of a woman aged 30 to 44 with secondary education, whereas the profile of a typical restaurant employee is that of a woman aged 16 to 29 with elementary education. This sector shows clear signs of occupational segregation, with a clearly gender-based distribution of tasks that appears widely accepted as 'natural'.

In 2004, 32.8% of the sector's employees were on temporary contracts, which is slightly higher than the national average of 31.2% and four points higher than the service sector average of 28.4% - see table 2 below. The phenomenon of temporary employment in tourism affects women (41.7%) more than men (26.6%), and particularly people under the age of 30 (56.8%). Andalusia has a temporary employment rate in tourism of 42%.

Source: Drawn up by the author from INE-EPA.

Growth and problems

In recent years there has been a period of economic growth in tourism, accompanied by a series of problems, according to commentators. These problems are identified as:

• disorganised urban development.
• an imbalance infrastructures, because local governments have insufficient funding to meet the needs of such a large-scale phenomenon;
• over-exploitation of the environment; and
• the use of tourism as the sole source of income for many towns, which means that they are subject to seasonal variations.

These problems are, according to critics, typical of growth based solely on seeking profit. New problems are, it is claimed, also emerging with a downward turn in the economic cycle:

• economic growth has not automatically been translated into social development and improvements in working conditions;
• the slow-down of the cycle is due to international competition and rising prices caused by the introduction of the euro. The number of tourists continues to rise, though at a lower rate, but they stay for shorter periods and spend less and less;
• Spain's climate and nature are becoming a less important feature, because other parts of the world offer similar advantages at lower prices; and
• the opportunity has been lost to invest the profits obtained from growth in infrastructure, improving workers' qualifications, diversifying the tourist services offered, improving the quality of service and promoting the distinguishing features of Spain.

According to observers, little attention has been paid to employment, which has grown far less than the number of tourists and the total days of stay in Spain. The sector fails to create all the jobs it requires and the jobs offered are unstable. The seasonal nature of the work has been managed very badly, it is claimed, and little investment has been made to improve qualifications. In short, critics argue that the long period of economic growth has been achieved at the expense of the industry's workers.

Only a more diversified model of regional development and an employment model that provides greater geographic and occupational security will make employment in the sector less seasonal and unstable, according to analysts. A more diverse range of tourist services could be promoted through measures that enhance tourist resorts and buffer the effects of cycles, such as:

• fostering rural tourism based on the natural environment, cultural development and leisure and entertainment services;
• developing a 'tourism of health and culture' aimed at leisured people, and improving services for business meetings and congresses, in order to reduce the seasonal nature of the sector;
• improving employment stability, which can be achieved, though it might involve job changes according to the time of year. This will require well-trained, multi-skilled workers and flexible employers that offer a variety of services for different clients throughout the year; and
• in order to avoid workers being unemployed for several months or having to move to find work, making an effort to create an employment model that offers stability to allow workers to stay in the same town by offering them the possibility of changing jobs in the same sector. In order to achieve this, training is essential. This training could well be provided in the slack periods. This would require 'fixed-discontinuous' contracts, part-time open-ended contracts, or an average 35-hour week that can be distributed according to seasonal needs.

Social partners and social dialogue

According to recent research ('Mercado de Trabajo y Turismo en Andalucía', Adela Mariscal Galeano, Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, doctoral thesis 2005), the tourism sector has been characterised by the presence of employers that are both traditional and dynamic, and by a workforce without specialised training and with 'little involvement in labour issues due to the precarious state of employment'. It was not until the 1980s that the workers in the sector began to join trade unions such as those affiliated to the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the Workers’ Trade Unionist Confederation (Unión Sindical Obrera, USO), and the first collective agreements were signed. At present, there is said to be greater awareness among workers, but they are still geared towards meeting the challenge of productivity at peak times. Any attempt to limit working time seems to be 'utopian' in the current circumstances. Though the trade unions are weak in the sector, they call for greater employment stability, a reduction in the seasonal nature of the work and attention to the aspects that are affected by this industry, such as the national image, industrial relations, quality of service, the environment and sustainable urban development.

The priority of the employers' representatives in the sector, such as the Confederation of Employers of Andalusia (Confederación de Empresarios de Andalucía), is to develop an overall promotion of tourism in Spain. They consider that there is a shortage of skilled labour, and that workers demand very high wages and are unwilling to accept temporary jobs. They also continue to call for cheaper dismissal as a measure of employment flexibility.

Commentary

The model of development of the tourism industry is facing several challenges about which there is no basic agreement between the employers and the trade unions. Furthermore, it is a highly atomised sector that is subject to several negative practices that have yet to be regulated The public authorities have a decisive role to play in meeting this challenge, which not only affects employment but also regional structuring, population distribution, the national image and culture, and the environment. (Daniel Albarracín, CIREM Foundation)

Additional reference: 'Políticas públicas y Turismo', Mª Isabel Jaimez Gago, Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, doctoral thesis, 2005.