Locals, migrants and work profiles in an Indian five-star hotel

Since India’s economic liberalisation in the 1990s, the ‘hotel and restaurant’ sector has experienced phenomenal growth and continues to be a dominant employment generator in the economy. Expectedly, this has had several interesting labour market outcomes. This paper examines, using a case-study approach, two of these sector-specific labour market phenomena: (1) increased inter-state and inter-city migration, especially young employees in search of higher incomes and valuable work experience and (2) the rampant practice of raiding/poaching in this sector leading organisations having to deal with outside job offers. Based on data from extensive interviews of 75 employees from a five-star hotel in Kolkata that covers a whole range of job profiles, this paper attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What are the differences, if any, between locals and in-migrants, in terms of their educational qualifications and labour market experience? (2) Do these differences, if any, vary depending on specific job profiles? (3) What differences, if any, do the data display in terms of locals versus migrants with respect to actively seeking outside job offers when outsiders/competitors attempt to raid? (4) How does the incumbent organisation deal with these outside offers and attempted raids, and specifically, do their actions vary by the employees’ migratory status? (5) And finally, are there discernible differences in their view of the city’s future between locals and migrants? © 2016, Indian Society of Labour Economics.