Tides of Labour. Forms of Exploitation and Practices of Individual Resistance in Seasonal Tourism Industry

The article focuses on labour exploitation forms and workers’ exit practices in the seasonal seaside tourism industry, particularly in the eastern part of the Veneto Region (Italy). It addresses the structural challenges of the sector, such as flexible contracts, low wages, non-recognition of overtime and tasks performed and informal arrangements, which particularly affect women, young people, and migrants. The research is based on 31 semi-structured interviews with workers, union officials, and employers, aiming to explore both the widespread violations of labour standards and the strategies of individual resistance, such as quitting practices. Key findings highlight the informal wage-setting mechanisms, through which employers reduce costs, structural under-payment, and the use of convenience collective agreements. Workers face intense work rhythms, understaffing, and gendered and racialised labour market segmentation, with women and migrants often working in the most vulnerable positions.

The article delves into the differential labour conditions based on migration status, gender, and age, revealing how specific groups of workers experience additional layers of exploitation, often normalised and routinised. Available forms of resistance include informal negotiations for better wages and quitting as a form of mobility power, especially in a labour market with high turnover and chronic labour shortages. Mobility power is leveraged by various actors in specific forms, depending on their positionality within the segmentation axes as well as their education level. Workers can exercise their mobility power by remaining within the tourism industry, by leaving this sector or even by changing country (transnational exit).

The study concludes by discussing how and if individual forms of resistance can lead to broader regulatory improvements. The article advocates for a more comprehensive approach by trade unions and public institutions to regulate the sector through various levers, while also recognising the opportunities for structural changes in a context of labour shortages.