Toronto restaurants have a hiring problem – and it goes way beyond CERB nowtoronto.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nowtoronto.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Article content
Try refreshing your browser, or
“Since March, TWRWF have sent out almost $150,000 in gift cards to restaurant workers in the GTA,” said Arianne Persaud, founder of TWRW, in a statement.
“As the pandemic progresses, the number of people applying for support continues to climb. We have been so thankful for the support to date, but we’re done yet. With ongoing lockdowns, we are at a critical point and the Last Dish initiative will help us raise the funds necessary to continue to help restaurant workers continue to thrive.”
Among the closed Toronto restaurants participating in the plates auction are Vesuvio, Southern Accent, Kit Kat Italian Bar & Grill, Frankie Tomatto’s, The Westerly, White Brick Kitchen, Montecito, Moo Frites, and The Walton.
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic and things are still looking bleak for Canada’s restaurant industry. The financial relief provided to restaurant owners, especially by provincial governments, has been largely ineffective. Guidelines for opening and closing are ad hoc and sudden. Proactive solutions like loosening liquor laws to create even a sliver of extra income for businesses still remains to be seen in some places. For the workers of this industry, who were already precarious pre-pandemic, this has been a time of unparalleled instability.
In numbers alone, Canada’s 1.2 million restaurant workers, who represent 7 percent of the country’s workforce, are significant. They are a large enough demographic that they have the potential to affect virus contagion nationally, and yet, support for them and their industry has been waning at best. Of those who have remained employed throughout the pandemic, most are still without paid sick leave, even amid this global health crisis. A