Sir, - I refer to your leading article recently on food hygiene, in response to a £55,000 fine imposed on a Dublin caterer by the District Court, and welcome your comments in respect of a need for high standards within the industry.
The extent of exposure by the general public and our ever-expanding tourist population clearly show that the catering/hospitality industry is of critical importance to the health of a nation and requires strict regulation and adherence to best practices.
The number of employed in the tourism industry has increased from 68,000 in 1987 to 109,000 by 1997, excluding the licence trade. The number of visitors to Ireland in 1996 exceeded our total population, and revenue generated by tourism rose by 12 per cent to reach £1.45 billion.
Parallel with this success story is the reality of a serious shortage of trained staff within the catering industry. For every one person being trained by CERT in the craft skills, there is a demand for at least two by industry. The image of the industry as a poor provider in terms of low pay, long unsociable hours, high turnover of staff and authoritarian individualism has been well documented by the media over 1996 and verified by a number of reporters who worked in the industry.
The industry's poor image has not helped in attracting new recruits into the industry. In mid-1996 both your paper and others called upon the industry to improve its image by improving pay and conditions of employment. Notwithstanding your well-positioned intervention, the reality is that by the end of 1996 the situation had got worse rather than better.
Craft skills within the catering industry are not regulated by designated craft status, as in all other occupational trades. Which effectively means that a worker following the craft route in catering may be trained for up to two year by CERT, or alternatively trained as a workplace apprentice in industry without external assistance/inspection and certification, or he/she may be trained as a workplace apprentice with day release training that leads to certification. When they are certified by CERT after a two-year programme, or certified through day release certification, or simply recognised by the industry as "qualified", they will be expected following the completion of their craft training to work for less than the average industrial wage and to work longer hours than the national average. All of this, not withstanding the fact that tourism is one of our most significant economic success stories.
The industry, and its implications for public health and the national economy, is too important to be left to self-regulation. Government responsibility is spread over a number of Ministries such as Health, Enterprise and Employment, Tourism and Agriculture. Tourism is one of the oldest craft-based industries and will be Ireland's second largest industry by the turn of the century. It is not in the interest of either the public or the industry that there should be no regulation of its craft status, and no adequate protection for its apprentices or obligation for comprehensive training and adequate reward.
There is an imperative need for Government intervention/action to support the demand for regulated craft training, and for industry support for fair pay and fair conditions reflective of the industry's current status and capacity for wealth generation. - Yours, etc.,
Branch secretary, SIPTU Hotels, Restaurants & Catering Branch, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.