Job security key to bringing efficient employees back

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Job security and a “decent” salary “paid on time” are key to luring efficient employees back to the hospitality industry, according to a top Bahraini hotelier.

Founder and chief executive at H & J – The Experts in Hospitality Hameed Al Halwachi said that the employees have lost their “trust” in the stakeholders amidst the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which led to them quitting the industry.

He also underlined the need for “fair” recruitment practices as the sector – worst-hit during the pandemic – is recovering.

c with a loss of between $1.7 trillion and $2.4trn in 2021, compared with 2019 levels, according to the latest report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

However, according to Colliers International, Middle East and North Africa (Mena) associate director James Wrenn, the sector is expected to register a 53 per cent growth this year compared with last year.

“The employees are looking for three important things to get re-employed,” he said.

“First, job security. They expect a contract for two to four years to make them feel secure.

“Second, it is common sense that they need to have a decent salary depending on the scales at a four- or five-star hotel or other hospitality sectors and which must be paid on time.

“Third, the benefits of the industry are also important which include accommodation, indemnity, bonus and service charges like in some five-star hotels.”

Mr Al Halwachi was speaking during a webinar on ‘Labour and decent work challenges in the context of Covid-19’, specifically in the hospitality and tourism sector, hosted by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) yesterday.

He was among the panellists who addressed the key labour challenges faced by the hospitality sector, particularly in the context of migrant/expatriate workers.

However, Mr Al Halwachi, who is also the BCCI hospitality and tourism committee deputy chairman, observed that the industry was gaining momentum especially with the opening of the King Fahad Causeway.

“I will, however, refer to this scenario – the trust between stakeholders and employees has been lost.

“I think we lost more than 80pc of the staff last year, simply because of lack of revenue. We had only around 5pc occupancy in the five- and four-star hotels and the only hotels that had occupancy were those which had a contract with military market segment.”

Meanwhile, a second panel discussed government responses in the context of employment in the hospitality sector.

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