Manpower nightmare: F&B businesses find it hard to find workers

[ASEAN NOW News]

Nuria Ling/TODAY

 

SINGAPORE — Mr Jeremy Cheok has just two requirements for anyone willing to work in the restaurant he founded: Two hands and two legs. Age, he said, is not a factor.

 

Yet, he continues to find it tough to hire workers, with even "a couple of old people” who walk by to enquire about job vacancies not showing up on the day they were supposed to be interviewed, he added.

 

“They just ghosted us.”

 

The recruitment experience of Mr Cheok is not unique at all and it is becoming far more widespread than before.

 

Several other food-and-beverage (F&B) operators told of the troubles they are facing with the ongoing manpower crunch.

 

It is yet another hurdle to overcome after they have been pummelled by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years.

 

The Restaurant Association of Singapore is appealing to the Government to review its policy on foreign manpower.

 

“(We) must make this one respectful request to the Ministry of Manpower: That it is time to relook the current foreign worker policy for the F&B sector to be granted a different foreign worker quota from the overall services sector,” it said in a statement sent to TODAY, calling for “differentiated sectorial manpower policies” for the industry.

 

“Services sector employees are in high demand and competition for them across all segments of the services sector has resulted in spiralling wages, beyond the reach of many in the F&B industry.” 

 

It noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic and with border closures, wages had already gone up on the average by 15 to 20 per cent over the last two years.

 

However, the manpower crunch persists and is further aggravated by Singaporeans shunning work in the front- and back-of-house operations at F&B outlets.

 

This is more pronounced with growing affluence and higher educational qualifications of the younger generation, it added.

 

“While the industry will no doubt need to continue its efforts to transform and innovate for better efficiency, for better employment of resources and to attract talent, the fact remains that the acute manpower shortage needs to be addressed at a national level.”

 

The association has more than 500 members representing close to 800 brands operating in more than 5,000 outlets.

 

To give some sense of how the lack of workers affects a business, Mr Cheok the restaurant founder said that even though Covid-19-related restrictions for dining have eased since late last month and alcohol sales and consumption are allowed to go on beyond 10.30pm, he is unable to keep his operations running beyond that time.

 

The founder and co-owner of Slake — which is a 100-seater restaurant located near Boat Quay — has been working with just 45 per cent of his usual team, which includes five service crew members.

 

It is not just harder to keep up with the increased number of patrons, it is also “physically not possible” to ask the employees to work beyond 10.30pm when they start work at 10am, he added.

 

In the latest annual job vacancy report by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), being a waiter is among the top five job roles — outside of those for professionals, managers, executives and technicians — that would not be taken for at least six months.

 

For the full report check out https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/manpower-food-businesses-offer-higher-pay-appeal-mom-policies-1867716