Claims that tourism doesn’t pay is fable, says CITA

(CNS): According to a recent salary survey conducted by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, even people who work in the worst-paying jobs in their industry all earn more than $ 14 an hour, which is much more than the current minimum wage. Sector stakeholders said at a recent CITA meeting that it is a myth that the tourism industry pays badly. However, this average hourly rate included tips, service fees, and benefits such as meals. The base salaries of many tourism workers are below the minimum wage, although for some their actual income can be much higher.

CITA executives told industry officials last week that the sector will have to hire more than 2,500 people by the high season at the end of November, when borders reopen, to prepare for what everyone is still hoping for a tourism resurgence Celebrations in December.

Given the challenges related to work permits and the pandemic, the executive pointed out that hiring staff will be a huge problem for hospitality this year. As a result, CITA President Marc Langevin urged CITA members to work on “breaking down the myth of low wages in tourism”.

CITA showed members a graph based on the survey results and said a waiter or bartender who works on a $ 10,000 annual base wage in the high season makes $ 40,000 in the high season from tips and with various other incentives and tips could exceed $ 50,000. A kitchen porter at the bottom of the payroll could increase his base salary from $ 17,000 a year with tips to over $ 32,000, according to the graph.

Langevin said the executive recently held a lively meeting with the new government, during which ministers made it clear they wanted to see more locals in tourism. Langevin said there was no stopping the “very honest and direct” meeting from either side. PACT members raised the issue of pay and said it needed improvement if the caimans are to go back to tourism. But Langevin said the pay was already well above the minimum wage and dismissed the fundamental problem that banks don’t count tips when valuing home loans.

If workers regularly pay their tips to the bank rather than spend them, then a record is building that banks will keep in mind, Langevin said, adding that many hospitality servers have been able to buy a home over the years.

Even so, pay remains a major barrier to local recruitment. Regardless of the average survey results, some workers are only getting $ 4.50 an hour as hotels and restaurants are allowed to top up the salary to the minimum wage by using the service fee to bring it up to 6.50 CI. During the high season, the service fee for all workers can result in their wages being above the minimum wage, and they can also receive direct cash tips in addition to the inclusive service fee. But it is seasonal and can vary dramatically over the year.

Markus Mueri, CITA’s restaurant director, said this is something that those who work in tourism need to consider as it is an “up and down” sector. Those who work hard can make very good money during peak season, “but you have to really want it and be ready to push yourself,” he said.

Both Mueri and Langevin said that almost all tourism employers want to primarily hire Caymanians.

Mueri urged CITA members to convince everyone they know who is looking for work to join the sector and urged all locals who may have found other work since the pandemic lockdown to return. He said CITA was planning a campaign to recruit Caymanians into the industry and train them to fill a variety of tourism jobs.

Mueri didn’t say the tourism scholarship should end now, saying CITA supported the support the government has given to people who have been laid off or worked short hours, but they now had to convince people to come back to work.

Meanwhile, Langevin, the general manager at the Ritz-Carlton, stressed the difficulty of remobilizing the workforce, saying the hotel had started a recruiting campaign and asked Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman to find local workforce. When the resort reopens after the summer renovations later this year, another 500 people will have to be hired, but so far only 50 Caymanians have applied for jobs there.

As a result, CITA executives all stressed the need for WORC to help them go through the work permit process for the required employees and explained why they felt it was necessary Open the borders asap Any additional requirements that need to be met due to the pandemic can therefore be addressed sooner rather than later.