Restaurants across the province are struggling to to find staff forcing some to reduce hours.
The restaurant industry was hit hard by the pandemic which forced thousands of Nova Scotian’s to loose their Jobs.
Luc Erjavec, Atlantic President of Restaurants Canada, believes people may have chosen to switch to another job sector that was not as negatively impacted.
“It really is a challenge to lure them back to an industry that has still not fully recovered and cannot guarantee hours because we don’t know how many tourists are coming, we don’t know when we will be fully open,” explained Erjavec.
Erjavec also feels that federal support may have caused employees to feel uncertain or unwilling to return to work.
“The Feds are paying people who are getting an income without necessarily going back to work to an industry where we can’t guarantee the hours yet,” said Erjavec. “We have had a large number of accounts of people calling employees and saying ‘no, I’m getting a federal support and I’d just rather stay home.’”
He said the situation is a perfect storm which has resulted in a big challenge as well as a huge source of stress for operators.
Erjavec adds that when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, the restaurant industry will begin to return to normal.
