Quarantine hotel workers to be rewarded
But skills shortage issues continue to dominate TAA board agenda
Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) will push for hotel quarantine workers to be among the first included in various state voucher reward schemes in recognition of their service during the pandemic.
The issue was discussed at this week’s meeting of the national board where TAA national CEO, Michael Johnson said hotel quarantine workers deserved a special “thank you” from state governments.
“Various voucher programs are being released nationwide now and health workers are rightly among the first to be rewarded for their service to the community during COVID,” Mr Johnson said.
“We will also be pushing for the dedication and hard work of hotel quarantine staff to be recognised at the state level too as a special thank you for their frontline work during the darkest days of the pandemic, work which allowed Australians to return home.”
But the major topic on the TAA board’s table at the board was the skills shortage crippling tourism accommodation businesses nationwide as travel begins again following months of lockdowns and border closures.
“We’ve had reports of housekeeping contracts being given up because they don’t have staff to do the work – other hotels can only open their dining areas on certain days of the week because the staff just aren’t there,” Mr Johnson said.
“TAA has been at the forefront of the fight to bring skilled workers back to Australia – we will continue to push on this important issue for all members. The skills shortage in the regions in particular is a chronic problem and is it not going to get better anytime soon without real concrete initiatives from Government at all levels.
“This is a problem which isn’t going to just go away.”
The progress of the merger between TAA and the Accommodation Association was also discussed at the virtual meeting, hosted by TAA chair Martin Ferguson, AM.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
