Tourism and hospitality
employs over 270 million people globally, accounting for approximately 8.2%
of the global workforce. Despite its economic importance,
workers in this sector frequently face precarious employment conditions,
exacerbated significantly by the rapid
rise of platform-based labour. Platform workers, often
categorised as self-employed, lack traditional labour protections such as
collective bargaining, leaving them highly vulnerable to exploitation through algorithmic
management, a digital system controlling their tasks, pay, and performance.
These employment
challenges disproportionately affect marginalised groups, including women,
migrants, and young people, who experience heightened
vulnerabilities related to discrimination and job insecurity.
Social dialogue—structured discussions between workers, employers, and
governments—has traditionally improved labour conditions, though its
effectiveness varies significantly by region. Scandinavian countries have
successfully used robust social dialogue frameworks to tackle low
wages and insecure employment. In contrast, weaker
institutional frameworks in southern Europe and the Global South often leave
workers without adequate representation or protection.
Recognising these
challenges, our current Horizon Europe project, FUTOURWORK,
seeks to revitalise and expand social dialogue to substantially improve worker
well-being in the tourism and hospitality sector across Europe. FUTOURWORK
acknowledges that traditional social dialogue mechanisms struggle to keep pace
with the rapid transformations of the labour market, especially the rise of
digitalisation and platform-based employment.
FUTOURWORK’s outputs
include practical and innovative tools to address these issues. Key outputs
will be an index enabling the tourism and hospitality industry to benchmark
worker well-being, a documentary based on real-life worker stories to enhance
public understanding, and an observatory platform designed as a space for
ongoing dialogue between workers, employers, and social dialogue organisations.
These resources will help integrate marginalised workers into meaningful
conversations about their employment conditions and rights.
Led by a collaborative
consortium including the University of Westminster in the UK, CoLABOR and
Universidade Lusófona in Portugal, Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania, the
American College of Greece Research Centre, Dalarna University in Sweden,
Zangador Research Institute in Bulgaria, and Equality in Tourism International,
FUTOURWORK benefits from diverse expertise and broad international
collaboration.
In essence, FUTOURWORK
aims to position revitalised social dialogue as the cornerstone for achieving
fairer and more sustainable employment in tourism and hospitality. By
addressing legal, institutional, and technological barriers, the project
intends to transform employment conditions and secure a more equitable future
for millions working within this vital global industry. After all, good jobs
make great tourism—and everyone deserves decent work.