Hospitality bosses in the region are facing major problems due to the ongoing staff shortage.
Eveline Wu, who owns several restaurants in Eindhoven, says she lacks at least 50 employees. She says she struggles every day to fill the rotas. She says increasing current employees’ salaries and reducing the restaurants’ opening hours was the only way to make sure she could still operate.
‘We used to get a large response when we published an advert for a job vacancy,’ Wu says. But ‘now it’s worse than ever,’ she continues. ‘Sometimes we only get one or two responses to a vacancy.’
The staff shortage casts doubt over the opening of Wu’s new restaurant at Eindhoven’s Stadspaviljoen. It is supposed to open in October, but Wu doubts whether this gives her enough time to build a team.
Edwin Vlek from FNV Horeca, a trade union for hospitality workers, understands the problem well. He has seen extreme measures from hospitality bosses desperate for staff such as offering employees scooters and even accommodation. Bosses are getting competitive, he says.
According to Vlek, the source of the problem is the ‘uncertainty’ surrounding the pandemic.
Source: Studio040
Translation: Rachael Vickerman
