Staff shortages
- By far the largest problem facing the hospitality industry at the moment is the crippling staff shortage. Whilst the problem isn’t new, the border lockdowns following the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated it.
- The problem is twofold due to a lack of locals taking up hospitality for work and a lack of migrants coming into the country.
- R&CA has been working with the government to make it easier to come to the country as well as working to rewrite labour agreements to make working here easier.
- On top of this, our work with state and federal governments on the training side has meant that there are cheaper training options available for locals seeking to make hospitality a career.
Cost of goods/doing business
- R&CA has been incredibly vocal on issues surrounding the cost of doing business (click here); especially with recent increases across the board
- R&CA has made the case to the Fair Work Commission (click here) that the minimum wage should not be increased this year due to the extraordinary circumstances following COVID-19.
- The new federal government has called for an increase of 5.1% and R&CA has argued that this increase would not only hurt businesses across Australia but also completely ignores the fact that wages in hospitality experienced upward pressure due to a variety of factors including the national border lockdown.
- Tenancy in areas such as CBDs have also become an issue for hospitality venues. In many CBDs where business is still slow to pick up due to office worker work-from-home arrangements. Unfortunately whilst trading has decreased on certain days, rents have not. R&CA is working with effective partners to help negotiate new rents and to help businesses facing exorbitant demands.
- R&CA has also held government to account on a number of initiatives that would only drive up costs for operators and would force doors to shut. For instance, following the announcement of the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee Pilot for casual workers, R&CA has made many appearances both to government and to the media (click here) to argue the case that implementing such a scheme would only hurt businesses and by extension reduce the amount of jobs available for workers.
Energy
- Due to global factors such as the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of electricity and fuel has increased. R&CA has been working with government and energy companies to find the best deals for hospitality venues as well as take the pressure off the broader cost of doing business issue.