Trade union: End overwork in kitchens and restaurants
The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) believes that training and working conditions in hotels, restaurants and bakeries should be significantly improved. A "rethink and reorientation" is needed, said chairman Guido Zeitler to the German Press Agency. "It is a fatal signal that more than 40 percent of young people in the food trade often drop out of their training, and in catering kitchens even one in two," warned Zeitler ahead of the NGG trade union conference in Bremen, which begins this Monday.
The NGG boss called for a change of course. "Employers and their associations must finally realize that it takes much more today than in the past to attract young people to the wonderful work with guests, in the food trade or in the food industry." Training and working conditions need to improve in order to keep up with other sectors. "This is not just about money, but also and especially about money. Wages must go up, working hours down. Collective agreements must apply to everyone."
According to him, trainee chefs and restaurant specialists experience the daily overload of their colleagues at first hand. "Given this perspective, it's no wonder that far too many are switching to other sectors." The gap that has to be filled by the remaining skilled workers is thus becoming even bigger and the workload is increasing. According to the NGG boss, many in the catering and hotel industry are increasingly relying on mini-jobbers to alleviate the staff shortage. Customers are clearly noticing the bottlenecks, for example through shorter opening hours, no lunch offers and additional days off. "The catering industry has long since gone down the service route," said Zeitler.
Around 120 delegates from the Food, Beverages and Catering Union are expected to attend thetrade union congress in Bremenfrom Monday to Friday . The motto of the congress is "Building the future together". An important topic at the event will be working conditions in the food and catering industry. According to the NGG, it has around 200,000 members.
The Hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, and bakeries, needs significant improvements in training and working conditions, as advocated by the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG). Trade unions, such as NGG, are pushing for higher wages and reduced working hours to make the industry more attractive to young people, addressing the high dropout rates.
The challenges in the catering industry, such as overwork and staff shortages, have led some establishments to rely on mini-jobbers. This trend, as noted by NGG chairman Guido Zeitler, negatively impacts service quality, resulting in shorter opening hours, fewer lunch offerings, and additional days off for customers.
Source: www.dpa.com
