Manitoba businesses feeling crush of labour shortages under Omicron as workers set higher standards
Global News
CFIB says workplaces across the board, especially within hospitality, were already struggling with staffing shortages pre-Omicron, something the variant is only exacerbating.
The East India Company restaurant in downtown Winnipeg is one of many Manitoba businesses at a critical point with labour shortages, after almost two years of pandemic restrictions, supply chain disruptions and rising inflation.
Now, the highly-contagious Omicron variant is forcing even more workers to stay home, East India Company owner Sachit Mehra told 680 CJOB Tuesday.
“It’s like, you know, jumping out of a frying pan and straight into the fire.”
Both front-end staff and skilled back-of-the-house kitchen positions are extremely hard to fill, Mehra continued. It’s not only Omicron, he says, but also longer-term issues such as low Canadian birth rates and the country’s immigration policy.
“We haven’t had people come into the country in the last couple of years,” Mehra said. “There’s just really nobody to fill those labour spots.”
His restaurant isn’t alone dealing with vacancies.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business in Manitoba says workplaces across the board, especially within hospitality, were already struggling with staffing shortages pre-Omicron, something the variant is only exacerbating.
“Unfortunately, it’s been devastating for many small businesses in Manitoba,” Kathleen Cook, provincial affairs director for CFIB in Manitoba, told Global News Monday.
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