Working in hospitality is common amongst university students: cleaning dishes, working behind a bar, waiting tables, it’s almost a rite of passage, a way of earning some cash and developing independence and a work ethic. But hospitality can also be toxic.
Studies show that sexual harassment and gender-based violence are pervasive issues within the hospitality industry. A recent report by the United Workers Union (UWU) found that 47 per cent of hospitality workers in South Australia had experienced sexual harassment at work. And in recent weeks, investigations by leading news organisations into Sydney’s hospitality industry have shown just how pervasive abuse is in Sydney’s hospitality scene.
The same is true in the Illawarra.
One former female Wollongong-based hospitality worker detailed her experiences working in commercial kitchens. After falling behind in service at a local restaurant, the former worker alleges that she was confronted by a ranting chef.
“He just started screaming at me… ‘if you want to be a chef, you’re gonna get raped in service,’” the former worker recounted.
“R-word this, R-word that, it was just so violent and aggressive.
“That was horrifying, and I quit after that.”
The worker, who prefers to remain anonymous, said that having been denied the opportunity to see the executive chef for about a week after the incident, she did not feel supported.
“I kept trying to see him, and then eventually, I just had to walk in the office and quit,” the worker said.
Another former worker, who we’ll call Kate, described her experience at a different Wollongong restaurant when she found pornography on the work iPad that was used to take orders.
“I was bored on shift and looking through the photos that are usually of funny photos the staff have taken,” Kate said.
“The iPad was actually linked to the boss’s account, and it was full of pornography and pictures of naked women.”
Kate chose not to report the incident. At the time, it seemed entertaining, just a bizarre story from a first job to look back on one day. But that doesn’t make it okay.
Of the 47 per cent of respondents in the aforementioned UWU survey who had experienced sexual harassment, 67 per cent said they feared the repercussions of reporting it, with 59 per cent saying they feared losing their job.
A key reason for this is the youth of these workers and their vulnerability. These workers are young, struggling to become financially independent, and due to the majority living out of home, without a stable support network. In most cases, the inappropriate conduct is committed by older figures of authority, generating a fear amongst young casual staff of speaking up. A fear that’s also in reflected in this article, and the constant request for anonymity.
Paul (also not his real name), is a 31-year-old Wollongong hospitality worker who explained that, despite his decade of experience in the industry, he has been denied jobs due to his age.
“A decade ago, venues wanted experience, now they’re valuing age,” the worker said.
“They’d rather hire these 18, 19-year-olds, and it’s because they are cheaper. One venue I was working at, they were having under-18 workers in the restaurant, but they were paying them way below the minimum average – and that’s why some venues get these young ones in because they don’t know proper fair work wages or fair work workers’ rights.”
Another recent report from UWU found that 82 per cent of the workers surveyed said they were affected by wage theft, with almost half being paid below the minimum Award rate, and over 30 per cent paid off-the-books and without entitlements such as their superannuation.
Each of the anonymous sources I spoke with for this story had also experienced wage theft.
Intentional wage theft will only be criminalised in Australia in January next year, but it’s an action that hospitality workers have long been calling for.
Creator of local community group Women in Hospitality NSW South Coast, Penny Claiborne, believes that reconditioning the hospitality industry is multifaceted and requires action on many different levels.
She explained that due to the informality of the hospitality industry, its casual workforce and lack of HR, there is a normalisation of illegal and inappropriate conduct. This is especially true for cases of sexual harassment, where many women are made to feel that their negative experiences are simply a part of the job.
Ms Claiborne linked that mentality to the casualness of the industry, and also to the casual misogyny entrenched in our society.
“A very important point is the normalisation within Australian culture of casual sexism, of sexual harassment, and of crude jokes,” she said.
“Culturally, as a whole, if you step outside of hospitality, there is a normalisation of the way in which women are treated, and that is highlighted in certain environments.”
Placing young women in environments with drunk and disorderly men could be argued to be a part of the job as a bartender or waitstaff. But if safety regulations and protections are overlooked and undervalued, then that job has the potential to turn into a threatening environment.
Ms Claiborne believes that in order to make these workplaces safe, it is essential to elevate voices and ask the right questions.
“Asking people who have been on the receiving end, what do you need? Or people that are in those environments within the industry, asking how do I keep myself safe? What does that look like?”
“And asking ourselves how do we empower women to do so, because it shouldn’t all be about putting the keys between your fingers.”