Slavery in tourism

“Endless working hours, unacceptable living conditions and low wages”: these are the main complaints from seasonal workers in the tourism sector.

Poor living conditions, endless working hours and unpaid overtime are what workers face every season.
Working conditions in tourist accommodations are often appalling, with “endless working hours”. In some cases, low daily wages and living in rooms where it is shameful to settle someone are added to this.

As a result, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, an acute shortage of personnel is recorded, since no one wants to “hunch back for pennies 24 hours a day.”

“Conditions are completely inhuman, often not paid for a few extra hours a day,” a young man complains to the MEGA channel.

The real picture faced by the country’s heavy industry workers includes:

• Unacceptable living conditions.
• Large amount of work.
• Irregular working hours.
• Low salary.
• Unpaid overtime.

“Five or six people sleep together in a small apartment and they don’t have much time to rest,” says a tourism worker.

According to the Institute of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, in absolute terms, the staffing shortage for 2022 was 60,225 out of 262,981 jobs foreseen in total based on the hotel’s organizational chart.

Lack of staff by region:

• South Aegean – 14,346 vacancies.
• Crete – 10,808 vacancies.
• Central Macedonia – 5891 vacancies.
• Ionian Islands – 8,378 vacancies.

In 2022 they remained vacant:

• 7360 jobs for maids,
• 5,164 jobs for waiters,
• 3460 for secretaries,
• 2866 for cleaners,
• 2729 for barista/bartender,
• 2340 chefs.

This year, according to experts, the situation is expected to worsen. The workers emphasize that “underhanded work and undeclared labor are becoming the norm on many islands during the tourist season.” At the same time, workers in the tourism sector often receive only a part of their salary, and the rest never ends up in their pocket.

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