Dusseldorf incurs an additional 10.8 million hours of overtime work.
Spotlight: Addressing the Unseen Cost of Overtime in the Hospitality Industry
Hail from the "Overtime Monitor" of the Pestel Institute, where we delve into the nitty-gritty. Recently, researchers affiliated with the Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG) union examined the impact of off-the-clock work, a.k.a. "extra hours at work". Zayde Torun, representing NGG in Düsseldorf-Wuppertal, shares the mind-boggling figures: an estimated 85.29 million euros earned by Düsseldorf companies, courtesy of unpaid overtime worked by the city's employees. This calculation is based on the minimum wage standard.
The overtime mountain also serves as a stark indicator of the burgeoning skilled worker shortage. In hotels, restaurants, and dining establishments alone, employees racked up 177,000 overtime hours in 2023, with a whopping 72,000 hours uncompensated – effectively donated, according to the institute. The researchers used current microcensus data to arrive at these findings. The overtime assessment revolves around applying industry averages to Düsseldorf's employment structure.
Long-term, hotels can ill afford to bank on their employees' goodwill overtime. "It's high time to bridge the skilled worker shortage worsened by the corona pandemic," says Zayde Torun. The solution? Competitive wages to lure and retain skilled workers in the beleaguered hospitality industry.
Currently, the industry is grappling with a mass exodus of skilled workers and a surge in mini-jobs. Whether in the kitchen, service, hotel reception, or the bar, the industry is increasingly turning to rookie employees to fill the void left by skilled workers. No fewer than 41 percent of hospitality employees in the city are mini-jobbers.
The NGG union touches on the skilled worker shortage and fair pay in the hospitality industry, food trade, and food manufacturing at their annual congress in mid-November in Bremen, where Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also expected.
Extra Bits
Current Industry Trends
Unfair Pay:
Unjust wages remain a significant problem, with many workers receiving remuneration that fails to account for their skills or the cost of living, leading to discontent and turnover.
Skilled Worker Shortage:
The hospitality and food industry faces an uphill battle in attracting and retaining skilled workers. Factors like low wages, lackluster benefits, and subpar working conditions contribute to this predicament.
Solutions by NGG Union
- Strikes and Protests: The NGG union orchestrates strikes and demonstrations to fighting for fair wages and work conditions.
- Tariff Negotiations: The union seeks to arrive at fair tariffs by ensuring workers receive competitive remuneration. This includes attempts to shatter the "wage ceiling" in low-wage industries.
- Union Renaissance: The union participates in conferences like the "Gewerkschaftliche Erneuerung" to rekindle worker rights initiatives, advocating for collective action against unfair labor practices.
Potential Government Policies
Although specific recent statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on these issues aren't detailed in available research, the German government generally values fair wages and improved working conditions across sectors. To address the skilled worker shortage and unfair pay in the hospitality and food industries, potential solutions include:
- Minimum Wage Adjustments: Periodic adjustments to the minimum wage to harmonize it with the cost of living and reflect the value of workers' skills.
- Career Training Programs: Initiatives to bolster vocational training and apprenticeships, thereby helping to stem the tide of the skilled worker shortage by cultivating a more competent workforce.
- Social Policy Measures: Welfare measures geared towards enhancing benefits and improving working conditions, which can lure and retain workers to these industries.
- In light of the unresolved skilled worker shortage and reports of unfair compensation in the food industry, finance-related policies such as minimum wage adjustments and career training programs could potentially help bridge the gap.
- Beyond the hospitality industry, the retail business sector might find a solution to its own skilled worker shortage predicament by adopting similar strategies, such as competitive wages and improved work conditions to attract and retain skilled workers.
