Chloe Ann-King, who has worked in hospitality for 16 years and runs hospitality union Raise the Bar, disputes there aren't enough New Zealanders to fill the record number of vacancies. She said the problem is not a labour shortage but a wage shortage.
“I have not worked for one hospitality employer that even had a basic understanding of our employment laws, and now that I've been advocating in it for about three to four years, every single day I am contacted by hospitality with workers that are being paid less than minimum wage.
“They're enduring sexual harassment, bullying on shift. We are subjected to such unsafe working conditions.