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The Committee notes with interest the Government‘s first report and accompanying material.

Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee notes that both the Employment Regulation Order (Hotels Joint Labour Committee), 2002, and the Employment Regulation Order (Catering Joint Labour Committee), 2002, exclude from their scope of application the following: (a) managers, assistant managers and trainee managers; (b) workers covered by the provisions of an employment regulation order made upon the proposals of another joint labour committee; (c) workers affected by a registered employment agreement. Furthermore, the Order for hotel employees also excludes receptionists, head storemen and housekeepers. The Government is requested to indicate in its next report the reasons for the exclusion of certain categories of workers, such as trainee managers, receptionists and head storemen, the law applicable to these categories, and any progress towards wider application, as required under this Article of the Convention.

Article 3, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that the statutory minimum wages and conditions of employment for employees in the hotel and catering sector are regulated through employment regulation orders such as the Employment Regulation Order (Hotels Joint Labour Committee), 2002, effective from 1 May 2002, and the Employment Regulation Order (Catering Joint Labour Committee), 2002, effective from 22 October 2002, which fix rates of pay and lay down conditions of employment relating to such areas as holidays, working hours, overtime, Sunday work, breaks, board and lodging, and service charge. These orders are issued, on a more or less annual basis, by the Labour Court following the recommendations of the relevant joint labour committees, i.e. the Hotels Joint Labour Committee and the Catering Joint Labour Committee, which were established in 1965 and 1977 respectively by virtue of Labour Court orders. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that there are separate hotels and catering joint labour committees for the County Borough of Dublin and the Borough of Dun Laoghaire but these committees have not yet drawn up an employment regulation order. It requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made in this respect and to transmit a copy of any relevant employment regulation order as soon as it is finalized. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to further improve the working conditions in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. It would particularly welcome information on existing national training schemes and programmes designed to improve the skills and enhance the career prospects of those employed in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry.

Article 7. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure the application of the prohibition contained in this Article of the Convention.

Article 8. The Committee understands that apart from the system of joint labour committees and employment regulation orders, the minimum rates of pay and employment conditions for hotel and catering employees are also regulated through collective bargaining. The Committee would therefore appreciate receiving additional information on the types, number and coverage of collective agreements applicable to workers covered by the provisions of the Convention. The Government is also requested to transmit copies of any such agreements.

Point V of the report form. In the absence of any information on this point, the Committee asks the Government to supply in its next report up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance statistics on the number of workers employed in the hotel, restaurants and catering industry, labour inspection results, difficulties encountered in the enforcement of relevant legislation, extracts from official reports and recent surveys addressing questions related to the employment conditions in the tourism sector in general and any other particulars bearing on the effect given to the requirements of the Convention in national law and practice.