Of all hotel workers, housekeepers suffer the highest rate of injury, according to a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The study, commissioned by the international hotel workers’ union, Unite Here, and conducted by four U.S. universities, found housekeepers suffer 7.9 work-related incidents per 100 workers, with injuries like musculoskeletal disorders and acute trauma injuries.
Next in line were cooks/kitchen workers and dishwashers, averaging six injuries per 100 workers. Paul Clifford, president of the Greater Toronto Area Unite Here Local 75, told the Toronto Star, “From our experience, the findings are very consistent with what our membership in Canada has experienced. [Workload reduction among housekeepers] is always a prominent collective bargaining demand. There is indication that this is one of the top issues for 2010.”
