HALIFAX 鈥� As restaurateurs across the country scramble to fill thousands of jobs, a common refrain has emerged: If the government wasn鈥檛 paying workers to stay home, the labour shortage plaguing the restaurant industry wouldn鈥檛 exist.
But workers are telling a different story, pointing to low wages and gruelling work conditions as the biggest hiring obstacles.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 hot. It鈥檚 stressful. The hours are long and the pay is awful,鈥� says Chantelle Comeau, a 25-year veteran of the restaurant industry.聽
鈥淧eople are literally working to the point of burnout for pennies above minimum wage.鈥�
The pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on restaurants in Canada.聽
The industry has endured some of the longest shutdowns in the world, with more than 10,000 eateries closing permanently.
It鈥檚 also been devastating for workers. Hundreds of thousands of food service employees lost their jobs 鈥� and some are not returning. 聽
As some restaurateurs struggle to find enough workers to fill shifts, some suggest government income supports are deterring some from working.聽
鈥淲e lost a lot of the untrained, lower wage workers,鈥� says Danny Ellis, the owner and operator of four restaurants in Cape Breton, a region with an unemployment rate of 12.6 per cent, compared to 8.7 per cent for Nova Scotia as a whole.
聽鈥淚 can鈥檛 find dishwashers,鈥� he says. 鈥淓specially for guys in that position, why would they come back when they鈥檙e paid to sit at home?鈥澛�
The restaurateur says he鈥檚 increased wages, but still can鈥檛 find enough workers. He鈥檚 now planning to close one of his restaurants for a day a week just to give current staff a break.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e been slinging food and booze in Sydney for about 42 years now,鈥� Ellis says. 鈥淭his is the worst labour shortage I鈥檝e ever encountered.鈥�
Economists say there are multiple factors contributing to the restaurant labour crunch.
They say the mass hiring spree as the economy reopens has created intense competition for staff. The situation is exacerbated by restaurant workers changing fields, ongoing COVID-19 concerns, fewer foreign workers and issues finding child care or summer camps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be pretty difficult to rehire a quarter of a million people all at once,鈥� says David Macdonald, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Pointing to recent statistics, he says wages in the restaurant industry have remained relatively flat, while the workload in terms of enhanced cleaning and health and safety measures has increased.
Evolving public health recommendations and a looming fourth wave also make it impossible for most restaurant operators to guarantee hours, especially come this fall, Macdonald says.聽
He says the solution to finding more workers is often increasing wages.
鈥淭he proviso to any complaint about a labour shortage is there鈥檚 a shortage 鈥� at the wage I鈥檓 willing to pay,鈥� Macdonald says. 鈥淭hat's the piece that's always missing.鈥澛�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e asking people to potentially go off government support to take on a job that's maybe part time, and even those hours aren't assured,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not terribly compelling.鈥�
It's that instability that has pushed some people to leave the restaurant industry altogether, Toronto-area bartender Scott Marleau says.聽
"We've seen closures out the wazoo," he says. "The instability is terrifying."
The 32-year-old bartender, who started as a barback more than a decade ago, says he worked odd jobs in construction and film production to get by during the pandemic and is returning to his position as the head bartender of a hotel next week.聽
But Marleau says repeated lockdowns prompted some people to call it quits and seek a job in another field permanently.聽
Comeau says when she was let go from a full-service restaurant, she tried working for a call centre before eventually returning to food service.聽
She interviewed for a few jobs, including at Tim Hortons where she had worked in her teens.聽
The coffee and doughnut chain promised 鈥渃ompetitive wages鈥� that ended up 小蓝视频 minimum wage, she says.聽
鈥淚 would have taken home less than I did 20 years ago because people don鈥檛 tip anymore,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 used to walk out with $40 a day in tips but everyone pays electronically so there鈥檚 no change to leave a tip.鈥�
Comeau ended up getting a job a Halifax-area boutique hotel as a line cook for $14.50 an hour.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 really pretty awful pay for the amount of work I do, and the 12-hour days I put in,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f anyone is wondering why there鈥檚 a labour shortage, they just need to look at the paycheques of restaurant workers.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2021.聽
Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press
