Non-national workers in the hotels and catering sector

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Employment in the hotels and catering sector represents a transitional point for non-nationals in terms of their employment integration. This sector, along with agriculture, domestic services and construction, is a likely source of employment for such persons because it is not viewed as an attractive source of labour by Spanish workers. However, it is also beginning to provide a source of self-employment to certain groups of immigrants, e.g. Chinese workers. While many immigrant men view employment in the sector as a stepping stone to employment in other, better paid sectors, many women are happy to remain in the sector.

In recent years, hotels and catering is one of the sectors that has shown the greatest growth in employment. According to figures published in October 2005 by Eurostat, Spain is among the countries with the highest percentage of workers in this sector (6.7%), only surpassed by Cyprus (8.9%) and Malta (6.5%). A total of 1.2 million persons work in hotels, restaurants or catering services in Spain - the highest figure in the European Union. At the end of 2004, some 156,196 non-nationals contributed to the Spanish social security system in the hotels and catering sector, and it is one of the sectors that mainly employs immigrants.

The entrepreneurial fabric of the hotels and catering sector in Spain is fragmented, although perhaps less so in the subsector of hotels, collective catering and cooked meals, which is dominated by international capital. Establishments serving drinks represent the most important subsector in terms of the number of companies, and it also consists of the largest number of microcompanies. Restaurants, and particularly hotels, employ slightly larger workforces. Bars and restaurants are often family-run businesses.

Source: Directorio Central de Empresas (DIRCE)

Profile of the sector in terms of immigrant workers

Although non-national workers tend to get their first jobs in the domestic services, personal care or construction sectors, the hotels and catering sector provides an easy transition point for them in their employment integration. Typically, workers employed in this sector tend to start in jobs that do not involve dealing with the public, such as kitchen work, but because of the lack of manpower, they often end up occupying jobs in all areas of work. At this point, racial and ethnic discrimination can be observed and preference tends to be given to Latin American and Philippine workers.

Ultimately, immigrant workers usually aim to change to another sector with better pay conditions (such as construction), or to become self-employed often in ethnic firms (Chinese, Arabic, Turkish restaurants, etc) that employ only members of the same ethnic group. A significant percentage of women attempt to set up their own establishment, but there is a high failure rate in this respect.

Figures from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, MTAS) on the integration process of foreign workers, published on 26 July, give an indication of the types of jobs initially occupied by immigrants. These figures divide immigrants according to the type of social security contributions they pay, showing that 33.98% were registered in the domestic services sector (this figure may be overestimated because in this sector it is not compulsory to present a work contract and it is therefore a vehicle for legalisation), 19.10% were registered in the construction sector, and 10.40% were registered in the hotels and catering sector, out of a total of 352,522 newly registered workers.

According to the statistics on work permits for immigrants, a direct indicator of their first jobs, the hotels and catering sector represented about 13% of the total jobs in 2004. This percentage is relatively low because hotels and catering does not tend to be a starting point for this group; rather, they tend to start in domestic services, personal care or construction sectors.

* = provisional data

Source: Compiled by the author based on the Yearbook of Labour and Social Affairs Statistics (Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y de Asuntos Sociales) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Findings show that the percentage of immigrant workers employed in hotels and catering rises to 14.5% when the workers have been in the country for some time, which is the key to integration.

The figures for membership of the social security system show that the number of women in the hotels and catering sector is far greater than the number of men in relative and absolute terms. These figures show a greater level of feminisation than that found in the overall statistics on work permits, which supports the idea that it is a transition sector.

Other qualitative studies suggest that for many women, the hotels and catering sector may be a definitive destination, sometimes involving self-employment. The same studies suggest that men tend to choose other sectors that provide a greater capacity for saving money, e.g. the construction sector.

*Note: Includes those that cannot be classified by sex.

Source: Compiled by the author based on the Yearbook of Labour and Social Affairs Statistics (Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y de Asuntos Sociales) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Another appropriate source of analysis relates to the number of contracts registered, which shows an 18.9% rise in the hotels and catering sector. It is estimated that there were 1.75 contracts per immigrant worker in 2004. This ratio is lower for women, which may be an indirect indicator that immigrant women have greater job stability than men.

Source: Compiled by the author based on the Yearbook of Labour and Social Affairs Statistics (Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales y de Asuntos Sociales) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Part-time contracts are also common in the sector, and two frequent practices are evident: 1) contracting immigrant workers only for peak periods of work, such as lunchtime; 2) contracting workers part-time to allow them to legalise their situation, but really employing them full-time.

Views of the social partners

The Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) considers that the employment of immigrant workers in the hotels and catering sector should be viewed as a form of social integration leading to employment integration. According to the secretary for trade union action of FECOHT-CCOO, many employers have a vested interest in employing immigrant workers while still, however, maintaining their illegal position. In general, immigrant workers show an attitude of ignorance, passivity or suspicion with regard to trade unionism. The basic problems of the sector relate to long working hours; payment in cash (undeclared) or inclusion of tips as part of the pay; de-professionalisation; and the deterioration of the working conditions, which leads Spanish workers, and even non-nationals, to change to other sectors with better pay and conditions. However, the hotels and collective catering sectors do tend to comply with the regulations and the collective agreements, and even (particularly in hotels) offer better conditions to both Spanish workers and non-nationals.

The General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) states that the phenomenon of immigration must be linked to the labour markets through a regulation of migratory flows and policies of integration.

The main employer organisations of the sector are the Spanish Hotels and Catering Federation (Federación Española de Hostelería) and the Spanish Federation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos Turísticos), although several smaller employer associations also exist. In general, the employers stress the shortage of manpower in the sector, particularly because Spanish workers often choose to work in sectors with better conditions. There is a particular shortage of workers for certain jobs, e.g. kitchen managers, but there is also a general shortage. Employers tend to contract workers particularly from Latin America because of the linguistic and cultural proximity.

Commentary

Rather than resorting to trade union action, immigrant workers’ main form of defence is their social support network, which is often their ethnic group. In order to obtain better pay conditions, their only strategy is to change jobs. Sometimes, with the help of the family, these workers choose self-employment, particularly since the hotels and catering sector offers a good opportunity for setting up a business. Some women also find definitive jobs in this sector.

The current legislation (ES0503205F, ES0412104F) is resulting in greater segmentation within the labour market between native workers and non-nationals. It involves the implicit acceptance that, before they can settle in Spain, immigrants must spend a long time working in illegal positions, encountering problems in changing to other sectors or in renewing their work permits. Because immigrants lack worker representation, the working conditions in the sectors in which they are employed deteriorate. This situation favours abuse and exploitation, social dumping and the informal economy, and goes against the principle of equal citizenship rights. (Daniel Albarracín, CIREM Foundation)