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.
Hospo union says there s a wage shortage, not a labour shortage rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As people slowly return to dining out, New Zealand’s migrant restrictions have turned up the heat on the hospitality trade’s glaring skills shortage.
Joel McGhie worked as a sous and head chef for eight and a half years, being paid at most $20 an hour. Now he gets paid more for packing boxes. The Auckland man says he loves cooking but has stepped out of the industry because of the low payback for what he was putting in. “I feel silly sometimes complaining about money because it is something you do for the love of it .