Given the shortage of workers everywhere and not just in Malta, it is clear that the Hospitality industry must “offer a competitive package to have good staff,” MHRA president Tony Zahra told The Malta Independent during an interview.

"You have to have a package which is competitive. If you have a package which is competitive, then you'll get the people. If your package is not competitive, then you will have difficulty in finding good people,” he said.

Following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the current high demand for workers in the Hospitality business, The Malta Independent on Sunday sat down separately with Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra and James Montebello, who has been working in the industry for eleven and a half years, to discuss the root of the understaffed problem.

Initially, Zahra began by giving an overview of how we have reached this stage.

“Since 2013 we have seen economic growth in Malta, which was beyond the capacity of the workforce,” he explained.

Therefore, “there was a need to bring in various people from abroad, to work in Malta.”

“The number of people that we had on the island could not handle the amount of business that was being generated here. So the obvious thing was to bring in people from abroad, and they came in at all levels.”

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he explained that “a number of people that were in the industry went back home because the industry slimmed down considerably. Now that it has restarted, we need more people”.

We asked him whether this had to do with the unattractive working conditions of the hospitality industry.

In response to this, he stressed the importance that if businesses really want more people to come and work for them, then they need to offer a “competitive package” for employees to make their business more attractive than the rest.

He further commented on how “the reality is that there is competition out there for the workforce that is available”.

"The demand for staff is very big and consequently people will work where they feel comfortable, where they feel that this is a career move,” he said.

As a result, he said that people are giving a lot more importance to the pay, the stability, the environment, and the opportunity for growth that the job might offer when looking for a job.

“If businesses are not going to focus on that then they’re going to have a problem getting staff," he stated.

Furthermore, he said that the rate of inflation is such that it looks as if the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be just under €10 this year.

We asked him about cases where workers are exploited in the hospitality industry.

He categorically stated that "if there are workers exploited then there are laws, let's apply the laws. We will not support anybody that exploits workers. Nobody."

"Anybody that is breaking the law, Mr Government must enforce it," he said.

He made it very clear that the role of the government should be to protect cases where workers are being exploited.

Nevertheless, he made it clear that the problems we’re facing in the hospitality industry are not particular to Malta. The disruption Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have caused is affecting all countries.

"The problems that Malta faces are not purely Maltese problems, these are problems that are faced in many other economies. We are not unique, we form part of an economic system and the economic system in Malta is similar to the one abroad.”

He concluded by saying that Malta and Maltese entrepreneurs must “get ready for the tough times because the tough times are coming”. He argues that we have not seen the worst yet, given the war in Ukraine, the cost of energy, the inflation, the chaos in the aviation industry and the increased costs of borrowing will all have an impact and Malta must now prepare for these challenges, especially because of the rise in the COLA and the EU green tax, which could see an extra 60e per passenger tax over the next few years.

James Montebello, who is currently working in guest relations, had a lot to say about the terrible conditions of workers in the hospitality business.

He began by praising the Maltese because he believes that “hospitality is in our blood, it’s in our DNA”.

That being said, he expressed his sadness for the industry today, but he called its downfall “self-inflicted”.

"It's Maltese employers, Maltese business owners who first started resorting to cheaper labour by employing someone foreign for less of a buck, for the sack of cost-cutting, which I understand in a business. However, from a small trend, it became widespread."

“To a business owner, everything is about pennies and shillings. All about cost-cutting and maintaining a stable profit. Business owners are not resorting to employing or increasing the wage for somebody Maltese, they're going for the bare minimum and trying to get what they can with the bare minimum.”

He found it very hypocritical how business owners were so eager to employ foreigners for cheap labour, but then “they're the first to complain that there are no Maltese workers available".

Montebello further expressed how he understood perfectly why a local would not be interested in working within this industry.

"Let's face it, no one can maintain a family with €6 or €5 an hour with all these expenses. It's impossible; it really is," he stated.

He highlighted how “money incentivizes everything," therefore if businesses are not willing to offer a decent salary then they cannot expect people to be interested and motivated to work within this industry.

He pointed out how, with the current conditions, there are no incentives for people to work within this industry. He made it clear that he does not blame people who choose not to enter this industry or leave it, because there is nothing attractive about the conditions that motivate workers.

The truth is that most people could be offered “a much better wage and better perks in a less stressful job environment”.

"So it's a vicious circle, that keeps going and going. There's nothing we can do about it. You can't force a Maltese person to try and work in this industry but at the same time, nobody’s willing to pay more to attract local people to work in this industry.”

Moreover, when asked about the undertrained staff and the lack of English-speaking workers, he stated that "if you pay peanuts, expect to get monkeys!".

“Instead of paying a bit more to get someone who speaks the language well. Most employers would rather settle for paying a low wage to keep the costs down,” he claimed

With regard to training, he said that only the big chains are continuously offering training to improve. Unfortunately, he once again expressed his disappointment with business owners not investing in their staff.

“Other places around the world are more motivated to train their staff, but some places in Malta do not even offer basic training,” he stated.

"When you invest in your staff, and the staff really wants to learn, it's well worth the money to invest both time and resources if you want somebody to grow. If your staff grows it's a guarantee that the business itself will do even better."

"Having a waiter or waitress who knows how to sell something, how to make the guests spend more and give an overall pleasant experience. Business owners will be happier, guests will be happier, and everybody wins."

Additionally, we asked him whether or not he sees Hospitality businesses changing their mentality to invest more in their staff.

"I really don't see a change in mentality because life is becoming more expensive so business owners would not be willing to cut down on their profit just to keep people afloat."