NEWS DESK
Staff shortage to hit tourist trade Liz Bell liz@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula businesses are facing a bleak tourism season unless staff shortages can be turned around before the end of winter. The demand for hospitality staff is crippling business across the peninsula, with cafes, hotels and restaurants all begging for staff. The problem of staff shortages in hospitality is not new, but has been exacerbated by COVID since 2019, this year’s emergence of a bad strain of flu, and young people apparently turning away from working in the sector. Kera Zaltsberg, of Mornington Peninsula Beachside Tourism, said all
businesses were in the same boat, with many operating on skeleton staffing levels. “We are still in a recovery period after COVID, young people are not looking for work but, on the other hand, people are not coming out like they used to, and we don’t know when that will change,” she said. “It makes me wonder where did everybody go? They can’t have all been backpackers, so where are all the young people that used to want to work in hospitality while studying or at school.” Australian Bureau of Statistics’ data suggest the staff currently working are having to work longer hours and more days to cover shifts. In May, the monthly unemployment rate stayed at 3.9 per cent but the
monthly hours people worked jumped by 17 million. Belinda Clarke, of the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia, said some staff were working up to 100 hours to keep businesses afloat. Rye Hotel owner Peter Horton said he knew businesses had tried several initiatives to attract local staff to fill the gaps previously filled by tourists or overseas students, such as appealing to mothers to work during school hours. “It’s been hard to bring people to the peninsula because they have to find accommodation, so we need to look local as much as possible,” he said. “In the past we would have had lots of people applying for jobs, but that has definitely changed; it’s a really tough one for businesses.
“Even with staff, absenteeism is high, you can set up rosters and then people get sick or just don’t show up.” Owner of Revolution Roasters in Somerville, Paul O’Brien, said his business was training baristas to help his clients deal with the staff shortage. “Every one of the businesses we supply on the peninsula are looking for staff, particularly baristas, so we decided we could help them by training up young people as baristas,” he said. “It was a matter of having to do something … at the moment it’s just for our clients, but by next year we hope to have a training scheme up and running for anyone.” Clarke said the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia wanted to speed-up the consideration of
temporary visas, which were taking 83 days to process – almost one month longer than in March. Up to 25 per cent of skilled workers visas were taking at least one year to process. Clarke said the processes needed to be streamlined but, in the meantime, she was encouraging employers to be as flexible as possible with rosters and hiring and consider hiring mature and semi-retired workers who could bring in a lot of experience and work ethic. “It’s a tough time across Australia, in every state it’s the same. Cafes and restaurants are operating at half capacity, some close more often and some have reduced the menu,” she said. “It means is uncertainty for the industry and for consumers.”
Life returns to the pond A ONCE neglected and sad-looking pond in Bentons Road, Mount Martha, is continuing to thrive two years after a beautification project brought it back to life. In partnership with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, the nearby Goodstart Early Learning Centre has worked to revitalise the waterway and surrounds to bring back frogs and birds and provide a green space for the community. More than 80 plants were added to provide food and protection for wildlife. Early learning teacher Amanda Brewer said that since 2020 there had been continued work to build and extend the community landscape, creating a natural and inviting space for everyone in the community. “Recently we have put in a bench table to assist the elderly who walk by and don't have a place to rest, and we planted additional Indigenous and native plants around the pond and a further 10 red gums in the area,” she said. “This is just one of the amazing things happening in the community and we were so pleased our students could be part of it.”
Reflecting on their good work at the pond with the children are the early learning centre’s Amanada Brewer and Brooke Kuss and Pia Spreen, of Mornington Peninsula Shire. Picture: Gary Sissons
COMMENT
Tests reveal state facing ‘worst winter for viruses’ By Dr Sally Shaw* IT SEEMS this winter has bought with it more questions than answers with regard to COVID and the terrible rounds of flu and other respiratory viruses we seem to be getting at the moment. I’d love to be able to do a test and get an answer, but two of my kids, and my brother, have recently had very significant respiratory infections with fever, aches, pains and headaches, putting them out of action for at least a week. It seems to have a lingering hacking cough, especially at night. Each one of them tested negative for the entire respiratory panel and for COVID.
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Southern Peninsula News
13 July 2022
The people that we are seeing at Rosebud Respiratory Clinic are typical of what is going on all over Victoria. What we are finding is a large percentage of our patients are having significant symptoms and being COVID negative. We have introduced full respiratory panel testing with every COVID test for anyone with symptoms. This includes influenza A, influenza B, rhinovirus, para influenza, adenovirus and metapneumovirus. We have been doing this for about a month and preliminary observations show a huge surge in influenza and coronavirus as well as 20 COVID positives a day.
Victoria is still getting about 8000 new cases a day and 20 deaths, but the prediction is actually five times that because people have decreased testing or are relying on the very inaccurate RATS which are incorrect 42 per cent of the time. We know that a lot of people are becoming symptomatic and continuing to go to work or go shopping. While it may be tempting not to test for the fear of needing to isolate for seven days, there is a real advantage in knowing what it is you are infected with, whether it be COVID, influenza, or something different. We are having the worst winter for viruses in
years. The statistics aren’t out yet, but we all know someone who has cancelled work and gone to bed. People are more likely to rest and give themselves a break and will wear a mask if they know that they are infected with a serious virus. I think the safest thing is to wear masks around vulnerable people with so many viruses on the move. * Dr Sally Shaw heads Rosebud Respiratory Clinic, 1079 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud, call 0436 033 507.