Hospitality workers could soon fetch wages of up to $50 an hour as managers become desperate for staff as they re-open after extended lockdowns.
As residents of New South Wales and Victoria hit pubs, restaurants and cafes to enjoy their restored freedoms, hospitality bosses are scrambling to find employees to meet the demand.
Managers have been forced to compete for staff, offering flexible shifts and high pay rates, in some cases up to $45 an hour and absent any casual labour coming in from overseas, that could go even higher.
However as wages skyrocket for those behind the bar, a key industry body has warned it will be patrons who are forced to pick up the bill.
Hospitality workers could demand wages of up to $50 an hour as managers become desperate for staff after extended lockdowns crippled the industry (pictured, a bartender in Melbourne)
As Victorians continue to enjoy their newfound freedom in pubs and restaurants, hospitality bosses are struggling to find employees to meet the demand (pictured, a venue in Melbourne)
Wes Lambert, the chief executive of Restaurant and Catering Australia, revealed some venues were spending thousands on sign-on and retention bonuses.
'Some businesses are offering up to $45 an hour for positions that would normally pay in the 20s,' Mr Lambert told The Age.
The chief executive said the price of food and beverages as business owners passed on their higher staffing costs to customers.
'They needed to go up – the price of a cup [of coffee for] $4 and the $28 price of a steak have been stagnant for a decade,' he said.
Melburnians were recently freed from the world's longest lockdown after enduring a collective 262 gruelling days living under stay-at-home orders as the Covid pandemic gripped Victoria.
However, after extended border closures businesses have become desperate for staff following the loss of migrant workers and students from overseas.
Businesses across Melbourne have been forced to entice their staff with promises of flexible shifts and high pay rates, in some cases up to $45 an hour (pictured, a bar in Melbourne)
Managers have taken to social media to beg for new staff as enthusiastic punters swarm to bars, pubs and restaurants for the first time in months (pictured, punters in Melbourne)
A key industry body has warned it will be patrons who are forced to pick up the bill if managers are forced to entice staff with high wages (pictured, a restaurant in Melbourne)
Managers have taken to social media to beg for new staff as enthusiastic punters swarm to bars, pubs and restaurants for the first time in months.
Dean Jarvis, the administrator of the Melbourne Bartender Exchange Facebook
