When money is the bottom line in the trekking tourism industry, the creation of equitable working conditions will rely mainly on the tourists who hire and pay tour operators. As such, it is vital for tourists to act on their roles as advocates to demand fair and equitable treatment of porters in the three biggest trekking tourism industries in the world: Peru, Nepal and Tanzania. Porters continue to face poor working conditions that at times constitute abuse and exploitation on the mountain trails. Whether you are trekking on the Inca trail, Everest Base Camp or Kilimanjaro, it is up to you, the tourist, to speak up and make demands for changes in the way the trekking tourism industry treats its workforce. Here are 8 ways to be an advocate for Workforce Equity in the trekking tourism industry:
- Do your research on the workforce issues within the trekking tourism industry. Although information on the exploitative practices within the trekking tourism industry remains minimal and controversial, the amount of information on this topic is on the rise. A few travel publications have published articles on the mistreatment of porters in Peru, Nepal and Tanzania. More often, you will find content that purports to acknowledge the workforce issues facing porters but be forewarned that the entities behind such content are often tour companies that have routinely used the porters’ struggles to serve their own interests by marketing their brand. The Porter Voice Collective website has collected relevant resources on the topic that appear credible. PVC also has obtained direct testimonies and statements from porters themselves, which would be the most reliable source of information for learning about the work inequities within the industry. PVC is a good place to start in terms of attaining a level of awareness about the poor working conditions and inequity issues that porters continue to face.
2. Be curious and ask questions. Your best ammunition to be an ally is knowledge. Cultivate awareness of the inequities happening on the ground by doing your independent research. Ask the tour operators about their business practices and commitment towards creating fair and equitable working conditions for porters, guides, cooks, drivers and everyone who is part of the workforce. Here are some questions you can ask:
How much do you pay the guide, porter, cook drivers, etc?
Do porters have to pay for food or other expenses during the trek? (Determine what the net pay/salary would be for the porter by the end of the trip. It should be noted that some tour operators don’t even pay their porters as they instruct them to rely only on tips from tourists as their “salary.” In other scenarios, porters are expected to pay for their accommodations and meals during the trek which lead to the depletion of their salary. Both practices are highly exploitative and should never be tolerated).
What type of sleeping gear do they have on the mountains?
What type of meals do you provide the porters?
How many times do they eat a day?
How many people sleep in the tent? (Determine if the condition constitutes overcrowding).
Do you have women only tents or accommodations provided to your female porters?
How do you ensure the privacy and safety of female guides, porters, etc. on the trail?
Do you provide some type of cultural/gender discrimination/sexual harassment training for your workforce?
Do you provide your porters with first aid training?
Do you provide your porters gear or are they required to buy the hiking gear on their own?
How much weight do porters carry?
How do you ensure that the porters carry no more than the maximum weight limit?
Do you provide COVID-19 protective equipment such as masks, hand sanitizer, gloves etc. or are you requiring porters to pay for these items on their own?
How are tips distributed? Do you require tipping to be given directly to the porters?
How many hours a day do porters work?
Do you pay for extra hours beyond the regular work hours?
Do you provide emergency medical funds or insurance to cover accidents sustained by your porters on the trail?
What is your procedure for evacuation or treatment of sick/injured porters?
3. Don’t rely on hearsay. Observe the conditions first-hand. You have spoken to a tour operator who claims to have a business practice that is aligned with the notion of workforce equity. However, many companies on their website or through conversations can paint an image that’s totally different from the reality on the ground. Don’t believe it yet until you see it. When you are on your trek, make sure to take note of the working conditions for the porters. Make time to see where they sleep, what they eat, or what they are wearing on the trek. Speak with porters directly (outside the presence of the guide) to the extent this is feasible. Most porters don’t speak English which further makes it difficult to converse with them directly about their working conditions. Yet, it’s always worth the try since a signification number of porters are usually working to become guides and are in the process of learning English. Don’t rely on the guide to help you to communicate with the porters as the presence of the guides can prevent the porters from speaking truthfully about their situation. Porters often view the guides as their “boss” who are normally loyal to the interests of the tour operators rather than serve the interests of the porters. Do note that some guides, due to their level of power and status on the workforce hierarchy, tend to engage in opportunistic behaviors whereby they extort money from the porters by promising them a job in exchange for a portion of their salary.
4. Demand from the stakeholders to see the changes in the industry. After conducting your own research and observations of the issues, should you learn that the tour operator lacks the necessary conditions to ensure workforce equity in one form or another, it is important to take the time to speak directly to the tour operator about such concerns. Tell them that Workforce Equity is important to you as a consumer of their products. Ask them if they intend to commit to creating fair and equitable working conditions, and if so, how and when do they plan to carry out such needed change. Accountability is sorely lacking in the industry despite the minimal and cursory existence of porter laws. Hence, the questioning of tour operators can fill that gap effectively, albeit unofficially.
5. Demand proof, not just promises. Ask them to provide you proof of the changes in their treatment of the porters. The proof must be tangible. The proof can come in the form of receipts showing that the set salary was paid in full, documents proving the existence of emergency medical insurance coverage for porters or payment of medical bills or photos of the gear provided to the porters. Verify the veracity of the claims by speaking with the porters directly, to the extent possible. Maintain contact with the tour operator and inform them that you will continue following up on the issue until there is a reliable, sufficient and long-standing record of their commitment to the changes.
6. Report the offending tour company to the Tour Association. If the tour operator refuses to cooperate or fails to make the necessary changes, find out which tour company associations the company is affiliated with. Thereafter, you can file a complaint with said tour association which presumably has the authority to discuss the problem with the company in question. Tour associations have the ability to advocate on your behalf, suspend the membership of the company in question and report the concern to the appropriate government entity which can result in the suspension of the tour company’s license as way to create accountability.
7. Talk about Workforce Equity Tourism and the porter issues with your friends and network. It is vital to share what you know with your friends and network to elevate the issues and create a universal movement towards Workforce Equity Tourism. Share this article or any articles of relevance that will educate tourists on the workforce equity issues. Engage in conversations with your hiking groups. If you are a content creator, write an article about it or an essay about your observations during your trek, talk about it via podcast, or create a film about it. The idea is to get as many people engaged in the topic which will then create a greater level of awareness that will give people the tools to become educated advocates. The greater the demand is for Workforce Equity Tourism, the more likely the industry will start to listen and realize the need to adopt the new equity-based changes that are underway. Tourists themselves can create the much needed accountability by way of their privilege as consumers who can exercise their power to choose a tour operator out of hundreds or thousands of them that aligns with their values as travelers.
8. Support initiatives and petitions that truly advance the porters’ rights. Every so often, certain entities in the travel industry engage in initiatives to support porter rights. Often, on a superficial level and without further research, the initiative appears legitimate and authentic. This occurs due to a well-thought out and executed marketing tactic. Be wary of initiatives that are run by tour companies as more often than not they utilize such initiatives as marketing tools to promote their company. Some tour companies utilize the “porters’ struggles” to create a “philantrophic-like” brand so as to attract more clients; hence, more profits in their pockets at the expense of the porters. Oftentimes, tour operator-led initiatives or fundraising campaigns lack transparency on how they are helping the porters or how money is distributed. Transparency is the key when it comes to evaluating the authenticity of porter rights-related initiatives. Consider ambiguity in the execution of the initiative’s goals as a red flag.
Be wary also of membership-based non-profit organizations that have tour companies as their core members. Logically speaking, these non-profits are not in a position to fully advocate for porters’ welfare due to the nature of their relationship with tour operators that at times act as the funding source for the non-profit’s operations. Any initiative of such non-profit to support the porters would be problematic as such endeavor often runs in conflict with their commitment to their tour operator members. Tour operators exist primarily to gain and increase their profits – a goal that oftentimes compromises the working conditions and human rights of porters.
When evaluating the authenticity of an initiative to support porter rights, make sure to find out if the initiative involves a local porter association or federation. For instance, in Peru’s Cusco region, the porters on the Inca Trail have an official Porter Federation. If such initiative does not demonstrate direct partnership with the local porter association, ask the entity that’s overseeing the initiative as to why they have no partnership with the local porter association. Ask them how the initiative renders support directly to the porters in the region and demand to see tangible proof of the benefits they anticipate as a result of the initiative or campaign. Many initiatives fall under the “savior” mentality – a paradigm that hurts the porters more than it benefits them. A well-meaning initiative should have the intent of empowering the porters themselves in its core, not merely a quick fix for their situation on a short-term basis.
It will take time to create changes in an industry that thrives on profit generation as the bottom line. But if enough voices are speaking up for Workforce Equity and for the level of humanity that the industry lacks, only then will the shift occur in favor of a tourism industry that prioritizes the well-being and safety of its workforce and honesty towards the tourists who are entitled to have a guilt-free travel experience knowing that they are investing in an industry that treats its workforce with utmost respect and fairness. The more meaningful the travel experience gets, the more likely we are to see an increase in tourism dollars – a sorely needed shift in light of the pandemic. Hence, when money is the bottom line, there’s no reason for Workforce Equity to not be our bottom line, as well.
Do you have questions or wish to discuss this topic further? Do you know of travel industry entities or tour operators who have a proven commitment to the fair and equitable treatment of porters? We also would like to hear abouttour operators that are problematic so we can do further investigation. Email us at theportervoice@gmail.com
*We will update this article as needed to ensure that tourists are informed of additional ways of advocating for Workfroce Equity.
Written by Marinel M. de Jesus, Esq., PVC Founder
Read next: The Fight for Workforce Equity on Kilimanjaro via Alpinist Magazine.
Thank you for publishing this Marinel. I will share widely.
Thank you! That would help a ton.
Great. Thank you for this publication.