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ARCHIVED - Critical shortage of waiters in Benidorm threatens record summer holiday season
Bars and restaurants in Benidorm, the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca, are closing early due to a lack of staff
Thousands of unfilled waiter and waitress positions in Benidorm are creating chaos ahead of what is hoped will be a record summer season with bars and restaurants forced to close early due to a critical shortage of staff.
According to industry chiefs, the problem is nothing to do with wages but the fact that there are up to 6,000 vacancies in the coastal resort and a shortage of suitable staff in general.
Hotelier and employers' associations have aired their concerns, but Spain's Ministry of Labour has made its response clear: pay staff more.
Of course, this has not gone down well with hoteliers, who claim that the lack of professionals in the sector has "much deeper causes and uncertain consequences".
"We are seeing that the problem is not money. The salary of a waiter in Benidorm is around 1,200 euros net per month. In addition, there is a lot of tipping, especially from the British. Each waiter can take home an extra 300 euros a month through tips," explained Alex Fratini, spokesman for the Association of Bars, Restaurants and Cafeterias in Benidorm (Abreca).
Fratini estimates that 6,000 waiters are needed in Benidorm alone, of which they hope to find half before the summer.
These sentiments are shared by the Alicante Restaurant Association (ARA), which has argued: "The problem needs to be analysed at length, to say that it is because of the salaries would be to remain on the first layer of the onion. It is untrue to say that if we pay more, the problem will be solved.".
ARA President, César Anca, added: "There is unease about the Ministry's statements. It is true that there are bad businessmen, but not all of us are like that."
However, union leaders have blamed low pay for the waiter shortages. One said: “The positions that remain unfilled have to do with the terrible salary conditions that are offered.”
Meanwhile, Mar Valera, spokesperson for the Provincial Association of Hotel and Catering Businesses of Alicante (Apeha), is more critical of workers: "On the one hand the problem is that people don't feel like working, especially at weekends, and on the other, it is difficult to find trained people".
And the biggest consequence for the sector at the moment, according to Abreca and Apeha, is that some establishments are having to close early because they can't cover shifts.
"This is not going to be solved overnight and we will have to make do with what we have. Some businesses are already closing for one day, this appears to be the current solution, to reduce opening hours," warned Abreca.
Image: GVA
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