Restaurateurs in Western Australia are resorting to hiring kitchen and wait staff from abroad, having been left in the lurch by local workers who are being dubbed as “picky” and unwilling to do the “hard work”.
The shortage of staff has come as a surprise, given the state having the second highest unemployment rate in Australia, currently standing at 6.3 per cent.
In an interview with Perth Now, Australian Hotel Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said the labour shortage was a real issue in Perth, Bunbury and the Kimberley.
“Hospitality, it’s hard work and people have to work nights and weekends, some people aren’t prepared to do that,” Mr Woods said.
“Internationally we have the highest wage rates in the world for hospitality workers, even with those high wage rates it’s hard to attract those people.”
Making matters worse, said Mr Woods, is the decrease in working holiday visas with the state experiencing a 20 per cent decline in backpackers.
Owner of Greek restaurant Brika, Simon Psaros has experienced the challenge first-hand and says he has advertised for staff at his establishment in Northbridge a number of times with no luck.
“I’m now looking internationally, particularly Greece,” he said.
“I’m interviewing guys on Skype, I have one worker from Greece currently over there finding staff for me.”
Mr Psaros says he has a high turnover of staff, which he in part attributes to workers being unprepared to work night shift.
“It’s an industry issue and there’s an attitude problem,” he said.
The sentiment is one shared by co-owner of Trattoria Galetto, Vikram Pahwa who said most of their staff are from England, Brazil, Colombia and Italy.
“West Australians can be picky, they know more about the markets, venues and conditions,” Mr Pahwa said.
“I’d like to see more locals working in my restaurant, locals bring locals.”