Yes, the labour shortage is real, to the point that some Food & Beverage establishments have taken to offering $3500 for a dishwasher job. In one Japanese restaurant on Orchard Road, the co-owner herself had to wash dishes while they waited for a dishwasher.
A May 25 report in Shin Min Daily News said that there have been very few people interested in the position, despite a salary that rivals some university graduates. However, weighing in on the matter, netizens say that given the long hours and backbreaking work dishwashers do, they are unsurprised that there are very few who are interested in the position.
Ms Chen Weixin, the co-owner of Ishinomaki Grill & Sake on Orchard Road, told Shin Min Daily News that she’s had to pitch in herself to make sure dishes got washed. And while she offered other workers at the restaurant an additional $50 daily to wash dishes, no one took her up on it.
She told the Chinese-language daily that she’s guessing people perceive the task to be a lowly one and that the lure of extra pay doesn’t quite cut it. When Ishinomaki Grill & Sake finally offered $3500, a Malaysian worker agreed to take the position. The search for this worker took one whole month, and no Singaporean wanted to fill it.
The Shin Min report said that several eateries are offering a $4000 salary for dishwashers and up to $3,000 in bonuses to get staff to sign on. Many foreign workers, who have commonly filled this position, went home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Netizens, commenting on the news, said they were not surprised, because working as a dishwasher is backbreaking work, with long hours and typically 6 days of work a week.
Some pointed out that $3500 monthly is not so much after all.
/TISG