Kylie Tabonebelieveslongshifts and after-hourswork are turning jobseekersaway.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Worker shortages are continuingto plague the hospitalityindustry, a dilemmathat businesses have facedsince thestart of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in some cases, even earlier.
Even before COVID it wasn't fantastic, said Kylie Tabone, owner of the Grand Terminus Hotel inBairnsdale, regional Victoria.
I think it's because we're so far from Melbourne, we don't have a university, so we've always struggled with staff but it is definitely worse now after COVID.
Despite increased cost-of-living and inflationary pressures, Ms Tabonesaidcustomer numbers hadbeen steady for the 134-year-old pub, one of the last remaining establishments in the townto provide full table service to patrons.
The Grand Terminus's three job ads yielded only a few applications.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
But as with otherhospitality businesses strugglingto find workers in the region, stafffrequentlyfind themselves apologising forlong wait times.
Although the hotelhas employed a few juniors to help with servingfood, and collecting plates and glasses, Ms Tabone saidfinding staff who wanted a career inhospitality remaineda challenge.
People don't want to go into hospitality, she said,reflecting on howthe hotel'sthree recent job advertisements only generated a few applications.
I don't think the wages are the issue, I think it's the after-hours work. I think after COVIDpeople just don't want to do it any more.
Ms Tabone is preparingfor Melbourne Cup day byrecruiting extended family.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Existing staff, family members plug roster holes
Ms Tabone said upon informing candidatesthe workhours were from 4pmuntil midnight, it was hard to find any takers.
The dilemma ultimately puts pressure on existing staff and family members to plug gaps in the roster.
Myself, my husband, my sister and her husband —the four of us plug the holes where we can,she said.
We've got some really good staff that are willing to change their days to help out.
But there is only so long you can do that for before you get really tired and grumpy and cranky.
The Grand Terminus Hotel inBairnsdalewas established in 1889.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
In the hotel's kitchen there arefour chefs, two of whomwere head-hunted from Vietnam.
Ms Tabonesaid arotating roster of four days on andthree days offmeant that covering for holidays blew out each chef's work hours by an extra half day.
I really feel for them. It gets so busy and sometimes they just don't get a break,she said.
Demand skyrockets
Australian Chamber of Tourismexecutive chair John Hartsaidthe hospitality worker shortage wasAustralia wide.
During COVID we lost 350,000 people out of the industry, he said.
Whilst we've been able to replace people that left during COVID restrictions, we've had a 36 per centgrowth in the industry turnover,across all businesses in the restaurant, cafeand takeaway food sector.
Mr Hart said a cultural shift occurred after COVID restrictions lifted, with people wantingtoeat out andorder in takeaway meals more than ever before, placing an unprecedented demand on the hospitality sector.
He said manyconsumers now recognised that bythe time theywent to the effort ofshopping, cooking and cleaning up, it was just ascost effective andconvenienttopurchasetheir meals.
If I go out and buy a steak at the supermarket, I'm still going to be up for $20, I might as well go out and buy one in a restaurant and have someone serve it to me, he said.
Mr Hart said Australia wasnow comparable to the US, where80 per centofmeals were sourced from hospitality, fast food and delivery services.
We've just got to get workers wherever we can, hesaid.
Trials of afour-day working week, employingmore retireesandforeign workers,andautomated technologies such as robotic waitershave been flagged as potential solutions to worker shortages across Australia.
Mr Hart said that grey nomads, and working holiday makers were part of the workforce solution, but ultimately Australia needed to train more homegrown apprentice chefs and front of house staff.
Part of its migration — where we are struggling at the moment is in the skilled area, particularly cooks and chefs, we need to have lots more them coming into the country, he said.
Despite inflation and cost-of-living pressures, business hasbeen steady inGippsland.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Ms Tabone said a good place to start mightbe tax incentives.
If the government could give people with a second job a tax break, that would help, because at the moment they get taxed more,she said.
We've got a couple of young apprentices that want to supplement their income, they work here and get so highly taxed for their second job that sometimes it's really not worth them doing it.
Robotic waiters are popping up in restaurants.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
No staff to open Friday nights
Around the corner at popular eatery Northern Ground, owner-chef Rob Turner has plastered his cafewith signspleading for workers.
It's just a struggle to find anybody, you'll put job ads up now and you'll get no response at all,he said.
It seems nobody wants to or needs to work these days.
Rob Turner is desperate to find staff in the lead-up to Christmas.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Even with Bairnsdale'syounger demographictraditionally movingto Melbourne for higher education, Mr Turnersaid business owners kept hearing there were people in town whoneeded jobs.
The staff shortagenow preventsthe cafeopening for its Friday night trade.
Mr Turner is prepared to take anyone on who can handle the physicality of the roles.
I'm looking for kitchen staff, front of house, kitchen hands,Mr Turner said.
We're fighting an uphill battle and coming into summer, it's getting quite worrying now. I'm just trying to fill these roles as quickly as I can.
Northern Ground has been unable to trade on Friday nights due to staff shortages.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Mr Turner said working in hospitality was not the easiest job, and thedemands of being on your feet all day, multitasking and interacting with numerous people at once could be stressful
But he saidit was ultimately a rewarding career.
If you're hardworking, you've got common sense, you're polite, pleasant and helpful —it's not rocket science, he said.
We do make a difference in people's days.
It's not a low-paid job, it's quite rewarding financially for employees now, particularly penalty rates on weekends and public holidays.
Mr Turner said the industry had changed for the better since he trained as a young chef working 90 to 100-hour weeks, and now offeredreduced hours and more flexibility for workers.
We can be as flexible as it takes to get the right staff, to get good staff.
Hospitality isa rewarding career, Mr Turner says.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Low wages, insecure work
However, in the fast food sector, Josh Cullinan from the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union said low wages and insecure casual work contractswere sendingjobseekers elsewhere.
He said there were more than enough workers availableto service short-staffed fast-food outlets across Victoria.
With 85 per centof staff in the fast food tradeunder the age of 21,Mr Cullinansaidjunior rates as low as $10.90 an hour were not attractive for young workers.
Also, some workers are not treated particularly well by management or some customers, and the workplace is not particularly safe [in some cases]so there is a whole range of factors,he said.
He saidsecure, part-time employment, rather than casual employment, combined with genuine, liveable wages was the only real solution to attracting more workers.
Automation has been creeping into fast-food outlets such asMcDonald's, with touch-screen ordering kiosksand the first fully automated, robotic restaurant piloted in Texas in January.
ButMr Cullinan said contactless technologies had notreduced the numberof fast-food employees required to run franchises.
Fast food outlets are battling to find staff.(ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Anomalies with orders, customers changing their minds and machine breakdowns still requiredhuman intervention.
The structure of Australian fast food now is definitely reliant on drive-through,he said.
That all still relies on a minimum-wage worker who is hooked up in one ear, taking an order, while they're managing another customer who is paying for their order on an electric device.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-31/hospitality-industry-desperate-for-workers/103026688
