A meeting with hotel employees and employers to discuss the future of industry in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis is to be held, the labour minister announced.Jason Hayward said the meeting would be the first for the national tripartite social dialogue meeting, to be held on Friday, would be the first focused on the industry. Mr Hayward added: “With the gradual reopening of the country, it is critical that urgent actions are taken to gain common understanding of the issues and challenges facing the hotel industry in Bermuda, identify collective ‘quick wins’, and identify actions needed to enable hotels to reopen.”Mr Hayward said the meeting was designed to foster more co-operation and create consensus.Participants will discuss policies, laws and other factors that affect the hotel industry in the wake of the pandemic and the impact it has had on Bermuda.Mr Hayward added it was important to increase the number of Bermudians in the hotel industry over the long term, improve training and development opportunities for Bermudians and find ways to ensure the growth of the hotel industry.The meeting will include representatives from the Hotel Employers of Bermuda, the Bermuda Hotel Association, the Bermuda Industrial Union, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Tourism and Transport.Collective bargaining agreements, redundancy and layoffs, work permits, repatriation of staff, hotel redevelopment, unemployment benefits and training and development programmes will all be on the agenda.• To read Jason Hayward’s ministerial statement in full, click on the PDF link under “Related Media”