Exploitation of Interns in Hospitality Industry in India

Abstract

Hospitality is the worlds fastest growing service sector. Being extremely labor intensive its a significant source of employment. It is the largest employer of skilled and unskilled personnel. Huge international employment opportunities attract youth to this industry. With globalization, large no of five star hotels have come up in India and about 150 more will be in operation in near future, consequently large no of colleges catering Hospitality and Tourism education have come up in metropolitan cities as well as small town. Naturally a large number of students undergo industrial training/on job training category hotels in India as part of curriculum. The data of hospitality industrial trainees was collected from two cities, Mumbai and Pune. After analyzing the data it can be concluded that the trainees are subjected to unfair treatment, long strenuous work hours very low stipend amounting to exploitation. The problem of trainees cant be solved easily unless collective efforts have been made by Government officials, education institutes, Hospitality and Tourism establishments to eradicate it. Policies and legislature should be formulated and implemented sincerely. All three elements namely Government agencies, education institutes & Hotel operator must join hands to stop all forms of exploitation of students. Otherwise we will fail to secure the rights of our students and their interest in hospitality and tourism will be nibbed in the bud.

Keywords: Tourism, Hospitality, Star Hotels, Exploitation, Human Rights, Hospitality Students, Trainees, Industrial Training, On-job-Training

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