The Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) has discussed with Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue Andy Ellul, “the unfair anti restaurant 1992 work regulation order”, which it says “has to be addressed once and for all.”
ACE insisted that the “discriminatory 31-year-old work regulation order (WRO) which gives preferential treatment to hotel employers over stand-alone restaurant employers for same job descriptions has to be addressed.” It pointed out that the “department of industrial and employment relations while knowing fully well that stand alone restaurants are being discriminated against with this two weights two measures regulation order – are increasing pressure on restaurant owners over this during their very frequent routine inspections.”
An ACE spokesperson said that “the issue is that any staff member, from a cleaner to chef, in a hotel or any of the hotel outlets receives a standard hourly rate within a 40 hour-week, even when falling on a Sunday and public holiday as should be the case, while those working in the same career in a stand alone restaurant get double pay on a Sunday, or public holiday even if it falls within their 40-hour week. Both are in the hospitality sector when productivity is generated mainly over weekends – so to seriously address sustainability of both industries stand alone restaurants should fall under same wage regulation order as hotels. ACE has raised this issue time and again and now expects this highly discriminatory regulation to be addressed.”
ACE said in a statement that it feels that the industry is “being specifically targeted over this gross WRO deficiency. It has reiterated time and again that sustainability shouldn’t be just a popular buzz word but should be seriously taken into account when making a gross overview of the outdated WROs which are seriously jeopardising the sustainability of this industry.”
“Ever since this WRO oversight back in 1992, many political representatives have promised they would address this issue but 31 years later the industry is still being interrogated by DIER for this grossly unfair regulation. ACE will keep on pressuring government to ensure that concrete action will finally be taken so as to ensure that the catering sector can operate on a fair playing field.”