Though New Zealand has opened its border, and slowly things are getting back on track post the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, the restaurants across New Zealand are still feeling the pinch.
And staffing seems to be the significant issue that restaurant owners are facing at the moment. A lot of them are even forced to reduce their opening hours.
Though the borders have opened, and the employer-accredited work visa applications are being processed to let them hire overseas staff, the processing is slow, claims restauranteurs.
One such restauranteur is Paramjit Singh, owner of Otahuhu-based Chaska Indian restaurant, who is forced to close his restaurant for dinner owing to a significant staff crunch.
“Due to the staff issues, I have no option but to close my restaurant in the evenings. This has led to a decrease of more than fifty per cent of my business. I am constantly looking for staff - be in kitchen staff, wait staff or even dishwasher. Most of my staff gave me notice as soon as they got residence. And it is not easy to get staff members from overseas as immigration processing is quite slow."
Abhinav Arora of Shivani restaurants is also sailing in the same boat. He says, "The staff shortage is still prevalent in the restaurant sector. Now we have noticed that available staff have huge expectations regarding wages as they know that employers are in a crunch situation. This has become the main factor in customers having to foot larger bills at restaurants. With a recession looming and inflation at an all-time high, market confidence is deteriorating. I have seen many eateries go belly up just because it’s become too hard to survive.”
Indian Weekender spoke to Marisa Bidois, Chief Executive Officer, Restaurant Association of NZ, to know her take on the current situation and what needs to be done to ensure that the restaurant sector is back up and running.
While acknowledging that the trading is now picking up for the sector, Marisa says, "The overwhelming feedback from members is that staffing continues to be the biggest issue. In the short term, we need the government to make the process of applying for overseas workers quicker and easier. We frequently hear from members that the time to approve visa applications is taking too long."
She also believes that the government needs to look at the isolation periods for household contacts. Explaining the same, Bidois says, "Many workers in our industry are either family members or living in flat shares with colleagues, and this has exacerbated the staffing shortages."
According to her, in the longer term, industry and government need to work together on fit-for-purpose training and promotion of hospitality careers to address their skills shortages whilst ensuring they have an immigration policy that realistically addresses their needs. More must be done to promote our sector as a viable career option."
On being asked, does she think that the fact that NZ has fully opened its border since July 31 will help the sector, and she doesn't feel too optimistic. As she says, "The border opening will hopefully bring more short-term workers, but it will also bring more tourists. Feedback from the industry has shown that they aren't seeing many people on working holiday visas applying for roles.”
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