Trawool Estate general manager David Burrows is offering extra leave, fuel, lodgings and possibly even a car in a bid for staff because he cannot find enough locals to staff its two restaurants and 27 hotel rooms
Regional areas are suffering from a severe shortage of workers, worsened by a lack of affordable houses.The worker shortage is hampering recovery from the pandemic for many businesses.Regional employers are offering accommodation, extra pay and free transport from the city to plug widespread staff shortages plaguing the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The Trawool Estate, north of Melbourne, has resorted to transporting casual employees from the city because it cannot find enough locals to staff its two restaurants and 27 hotel rooms.“At points we were paying between $50 and $60 an hour, plus paying people to travel up and back from Melbourne,” he said.
In Queensland, some hotels on the Sunshine Coast are reportedly bussing in workers from Brisbane as spiralling prices push houses beyond the reach of workers in towns including Noosa. On the Great Ocean Road, Lorne Central café owner Bryce Newcomb said he moved from the town because he could not afford a house big enough for his family. They now live in nearby Birregurra.Newcomb said many other families had moved away from Lorne, denying businesses a younger generation of casual workers who would otherwise work there.
On the Mornington Peninsula, the consortium behind the Sorrento Hotel development, recently bought a nearby vacant nursing home it plans to convert into accommodation for workers. House prices have risen rapidly on the Mornington Peninsula, making it harder for local businesses to find staff.Regional tourism and hospitality businesses in New South Wales are grappling with the same problems. NSW Tourism Industry Council executive manager Greg Binskin said some caravan parks were putting aside cabins to house workers.
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