Deregulation and institutional conversion in the Greek hotel industry: an employment relations model in transition

Papadopoulos, Orestis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5086-5086 and Lyddon, Dave (2020) Deregulation and institutional conversion in the Greek hotel industry: an employment relations model in transition. Industrial Relations Journal, 51 (1-2). pp. 92-109. ISSN 0019-8692

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Abstract

Before the debt crisis of 2010 forced Greece into almost permanent austerity, its hotel workers enjoyed wages and conditions (through a sector collective agreement) similar to those in other economic sectors. This was against the international trend where low wages and poor conditions were standard. Sweeping deregulation by Greek governments has brought much of the hotel industry into line with other countries. The sector agreement, now covering a much smaller proportion of the workforce, survived but has experienced ‘institutional conversion’, delivering a much poorer outcome. Despite buoyant tourism, institutional deregulation and derogation have delivered the employers’ major objective of matching the workforce to the fluctuating demand for labour.