The Restaurant Association of New Zealand says it supports fair working conditions and is ready to come to the bargaining table to reach an agreement that works for both employers and workers.
“While the timing is not ideal for an industry already experiencing multiple challenges, we are ready to discuss the terms and conditions for hospitality employers in good faith and work through the process,” says CEO Marisa Bidois.
“In this current climate we are seeing more businesses thinking about what they can do to attract and retain staff. Whilst salaries have gone up by over eleven per cent in the past year, employees are also looking to work in businesses that provide them with fair working conditions and pay.”
In a recent survey on the top challenges for the industry, increasing costs were rated as the most challenging to manage. “We acknowledge that this is something the whole country is facing,” said Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois. “But the increasing compliance burden continues to take its toll on many of our employer members. The vast majority have seen a drop in business confidence – a contributing factor has been policy uncertainty and the legislative changes they have faced over the past three years.”
Bidois says profit margins in the hospitality industry are deceptively low, with an average between just 4-7%. “There isn’t a lot of wiggle-room there. Inflation is already heavily impacting input costs. This already puts margins under pressure. Our sector has been under enormous pressure over the last three years.”
But regardless of timing, Bidois says the industry is ready to engage in productive negotiations.
The association stresses Bidois, is clear that it has always supported fair pay and appropriate working conditions and has long done so without the compulsive force of the law.
“Our members are good people running good businesses. It isn’t possible to do that without attracting and retaining good people; our members know the delivery of a great hospo experience depends to a very large extent on the contributions of great staff members. With initiatives like HospoCred (RA’s own accreditation programme), we are leading work in our sector to provide support to our members in achieving this. We support fair working conditions and as the representing body of most of the Restaurants and Cafes in New Zealand we provide support for our members in achieving this.
HOSPO READY JOINT VENTURE
Meanwhile a new joint initiative between the Ministry of Social Development, and the Restaurant Association has been launched to help fill the critical skills shortage in the industry.
The Hospo Ready initiative will work to place job seekers into hospitality roles and work with employers to support and mentor those people during their employment.
Hospo Ready provides tailored job seeking assistance and support for people wanting to work in hospitality. The service is completely free and designed to easily connect job seekers with employers.
It also supports employers to take on new recruits who may not have the required experience.
Hospo Ready carefully matches jobseekers and employers to ensure a successful and long-term employment outcome by providing ongoing support to both employers and job seekers after employment commences. This could be additional training if required, or regular mentoring support.
The scheme will place up to 130 new recruits into roles in the industry over the next seven weeks.
“This is a critical time for our industry. Hospitality continues to grow and yet we continue to struggle to find the necessary workers to fill the demand,” says Bidois.
“It is important we find new ways to attract and train a new wave of recruits to sustain our industry for the future.”
More information is available at the association’s website: www.restaurantnz.co.nz, and for Fair Pay: https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/fairpayagreements/.
