If pay battle is won, what next?

For a long time, hospitality has carried a "long hours, low pay" tag. The industry is seen to attract academic underachievers; staff are easy to find, jobs are easy to fill. Right?

Wrong. Not any more. In case no one has noticed, legislation has reduced the working week, the industry is attracting degree-qualified professionals, there's a skills shortage that makes it hard to fill vacancies and - most importantly - wages, salaries and "remuneration packages" are up.

Two recent salary surveys prepared by recruitment consultants Berkeley Scott (Caterer, 29 November, page 12, and this week, page 14) prove this last point.

The first survey caused a flutter of interest among non-members of the industry, because it noted that general managers working in the top end of the hotel market could earn a six-figure salary. Until then - despite the publicity efforts of Springboard UK and the like - there had been little appreciation in the outside world of just exactly what the general manager of a five-star London hotel might earn. Not only did the Berkeley Scott revelation demonstrate the industry's potential to provide just rewards for a job well done, it also suggested, by implication, that the job meant more than just hanging around a hotel lobby greeting guests.

The same goes for housekeepers this week. It will come as a surprise to many outsiders that a head housekeeper at the top end of the market can earn upwards of £50,000 a year. Again, this will send out the message that housekeeping must mean more than making beds and scrubbing floors. Those of us on the inside know that already - the general public doesn't, and probably hasn't had cause to think about it until now.

This is all good news. Hopefully, the top-end salaries - those rare jewels in the crown - will have a trickle-down effect on wages in the mid-price and budget sectors, and on regions outside London. Eventually this information will filter through to school and college leavers. Teachers earn £25,000 a year, train drivers £35,000, hospital doctors £50,000 - you'd be better off getting a job in hospitality, where you can earn £150,000.

And this expectation will, in turn, make it harder for employers to get away with paying low wages. Eventually, a whole generation of employees and managers will grow up accepting a decent wage as the norm.

But what happens then? What happens when hospitality has become established on the level playing - or should we say paying - field? Attention will turn to terms and conditions of service.

Unless the world economy takes a huge tumble in the next few years, the skills shortage in Europe and North America will continue to grow. It will become increasingly hard for hospitality to ignore the "added benefits" that other employers will be offering. As time goes on, "extras" such as pensions, flexible hours and leave-from-work provision will become as expected as a decent basic wage.

Those campaigning to raise the image of hospitality and the standards of employment in the industry will be pleased that the salary battle is being won, but they will also be conscious that there is no room for complacency. Achieving parity is one thing; keeping it up is something else altogether.