Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Repetition

Article 3 of the Convention. National policy for the hotel and catering sector. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to recent amendments to the Federal Labour Act, in particular, section 999 which provides that employers who violate the legislation applicable to hotel and restaurant workers are subject to fines from 50 to 2,500 times the general minimum wage. In this connection, the Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that additional measures were needed to ensure in practice that all workers in the hotel and restaurant sector benefit from annual leave with pay, even when their period of continuous service is not sufficient to qualify them for full annual leave (Article 5(3)), and that they receive a basic remuneration irrespective of any voluntary gratuities (Article 6(2)). In its latest report, the Government refers again to sections 79 and 346 of the Federal Labour Act, which give effect to these requirements of the Convention, as well as to relevant jurisprudence confirming that remuneration in the form of tips is to be added to the basic salary and cannot, presumably, make up the whole salary. While noting these explanations, the Committee recalls the previous statistics provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Statistical and Geographical Institute (STPS–INEGI), as well as the information contained in the study Análysis Económico del Mercado Laboral en el Sector Turístico, published by the Ministry of Tourism in March 2011, which indicate that workers in the hotel and restaurant industry include large numbers of precarious workers who are not provided with adequate legislative safeguards concerning remuneration and paid leave. The Committee considers that, while the reinforced sanctions for infringements of the labour rights of restaurant and hotel workers may effectively improve compliance with relevant laws and regulations, further action may still be needed in order to ensure that all workers in the sector benefit from the protective coverage of the Federal Labour Act both in law and in practice. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any additional measures taken or envisaged – possibly as part of a national policy for the improvement of the working conditions of hotel and restaurant workers – to address issues related to the precarious nature of work in the sector, such as the failure to provide annual leave with pay or the payment of hotel and restaurant workers exclusively in the form of tips.