When the omicron variant of Covid-19 first arrived in the United Kingdom, there was a lot of concern and worry about the extent of its ability to evade vaccines and cause more severe illness than its predecessors. This concern and worry caused governments across the United Kingdom to call on the public to limit their social contact to stem the spread of this new variant, particularly during the Christmas and New Year period. This advice was delivered in a particularly strict fashion by Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government who implored the Scottish public not to socialise unnecessarily. This advice combined with public fear of the new variant disrupting Christmas plans caused a wave of cancellations in restaurants and bars at what is usually the busiest time of year for them. While this fact has been well covered by the media, what has not been discussed is the disproportionate effect this is having on Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority workers.
Under normal circumstances, the Christmas and new year period is the busiest time for the hospitality industry, however as a result of government advice, restaurants, bars and hotels saw a rapid increase in cancellations and a great decline in their income. While complete data is still being collected, anecdotal evidence shows the extent to which the public health advice damaged hospitality businesses. When individuals were told to cancel Christmas parties, within 48 hours the Chester Hotel in Aberdeen saw over 900 cancellations, indeed one Christmas event that was due to have upwards of 260 guests, quickly saw 242 guests cancel. This situation worsened as Nicola Sturgeon imposed new restrictions on the hospitality industry, banning events of more than 200 people inside and 500 people outside – effectively cancelling Hogmanay events for businesses and patrons. Speaking to Big Hospitality, Leon Thompson, Executive Director of UK Hospitality Scotland stated that “the sector will likely lose £1bn during December as public health messaging has hammered trade and threatened jobs and livelihoods”.
The jobs and livelihoods that are being threatened by these public health measures and messages are disproportionately BAME individuals. This is best illustrated when we look at the breakdown of the UK government’s employment statistics by ethnicity and employment sector. The statistics show that just 17.3% of white brits work in the hospitality sector, which is contrasted by 28.6% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers being employed by the sector, and 82.6% of those from a Black, Asian or Indian background work in hospitality. It is clear, therefore, that those who are likely to suffer most from the strain public health messaging has put on the hospitality industry are those from an ethnic minority background, particularly those from Black, Asian and Indian communities, who are already suffering from the adverse effects of Covid-19.
While it is understandable that we must take precautions with this ever-changing virus, the recent figures showing that the Omicron variant is significantly less severe than variants we have tackled in the past, one must ask ourselves if the guidance, restrictions, and some would say fear-mongering from the Scottish Government was worth the risk to our economy. Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government must understand that there are real life consequences to their doom and gloom messaging, particularly when it appears they may have judged the Omicron variant far too quickly. The damage has been done to the hospitality sector, we must ease restrictions now to avoid further damage.