Wages Board as a Mechanism of Deciding Employment Conditions of Employees in Hotel & Catering Trade

Abstract

Wages determine the living conditions of the workers and each government is responsible for maintaining high living standards of its work force. In the Sri Lankan context, government intervenes in determining the minimum wages of workers in selected trades through a mechanism called Wages Boards However, the existing minimum wage mechanism of Sri Lanka is highly critized by stake holders. The research has designed to study the role of Wage Board mechanism and to examine to what extent it protects the labour standards of the employees in Hotel and Catering Trade in Sri Lanka. The main research methodology adopted for the research is qualitative. To inquire the research problem both quantitative and qualitative data collecting methods used to collect data. A questionnaire was mailed to the managers of 32 hotels and interviewed 10 personals, trade unionists views on the prevailing system were observed and recorded at several wages board meetings. Secondary data were collected from published and unpublished documents. The finding of the study were discussed under characteristics of employment conditions of hotel workers , major issues in the legislations and relates to minimum wage and employment conditions of hotel workers, level of implementation and providing policy guide lines. My conclusion of the study states that the present wage board decisions and its implementation of hotel industry very unlikely cater the needs of the industry and the workers in the hotels. It's strongly recommended to revisit the mechanism and to redevelop the employment conditions of workers in order to ensure a decent work environment for respective workers.