Hong Kong restaurant sector faces serious labour shortage

For years, the manpower shortage has hit the restaurant business harder than any other.

Employers have said that it is mostly a result of the statutory minimum wage, which at present guarantees every worker HK$32.50 an hour.

Because everyone gets paid this regardless of the job, the bosses say, workers would rather work as security guards, which is less physically demanding than working as waiters or dishwashers.

According to figures from the Census and Statistics Department for June, the accommodation and food services sectors were struggling with a vacancy rate of 5.1 per cent.

Out of 14 industries for which official data is available, the vacancy rate in these sectors is the worst, followed by 3.4 per cent in social and personal services, 3.2 per cent in real estate and 3 per cent in retail.

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Tang Ka-piu said that in some cases restaurant bosses could not fill vacancies simply because they were not paying enough.

"Some restaurants in the New Territories are still paying HK$9,000 a month. Some high-end restaurants in Central are paying HK$15,000 a month but that is not enough since transport costs to and from Central are high," Tang said.