Many thanks to those who have taken the trouble to respond to my original question.
I’m still not sure however if I have an answer to my main question which was who gets the money?
“redfred” seems to think it’s the Travel Agents, while “surely not” believes the Tour Operator imposes (and presumably pockets) it as a way to put you off taking your own kit under some sort of shady deal with local ski hire companies. “Ckin Gal” and “bealine” say that it’s the airline.
Any more offers?
“barry lloyd”, is your case that the money should go to the ramp agents as they do the hard work?
Can I just say that as a member of the Royal Air Force who has in the past been employed on the RAFs Air Transport fleet I am well aware of how difficult it can be to load freight!! My experience spans from PAX and their luggage, to Nuclear Weapons. And we never got paid extra whatever the load, or the time spent on the task!!