Hospitality industry warns of critical workers shortages as migration cuts loom

[u/Rubiginous]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/hospitality-industry-warns-shortages-migrant-workers/107266454

[u/Haenamatme]

Worlds tiniest violin plays.

I've never understood the complaining from hospo operators given the fact that I, as a citzen with a decade of experience in the industry, can't even get an interview for these jobs.  Hotels, restauranta, cafes - you name it. The reason they cry about this shit is not because locals don't want to do the work. They just don't want to hire locals. 

Try and apply for any hospo gig on one of the usual sites and I guarantee you aren't getting a call at all.

Most businesses in the hospitality industry deserve to fail.

[u/Worldly_Cobbler_1087 → u/Haenamatme]

I, as a citzen with a decade of experience in the industry, can't even get an interview for these jobs.

For years, decades even, these whinging cafe owners would take their sob stories to the Telecrap saying that they can't hire any locals because 'Australians are lazy and refuse to do work that's why we have to hire immigrants' when in reality they hire immigrants because they're less likely to know their workers rights and can be treated like shit with long hours, no breaks and paid less than award wages.

Don't forget all the attempts to get penalty rates cut because 'we can't afford to be open on sundays' instead of just not opening on sundays. Then there was the sneaky play of forcing people working from home back in to the office because of the poor coffee shop owners in the city having nobody to sell which was code for 'landlords need their rental income' I've got zero fucks to give for struggling cafe owners who take advantage of people who don't know their rights

[u/broadsword_1 → u/Worldly_Cobbler_1087]

Yeah, all those sob stories seem to leave out the part where they gain a reputation among the locals of being cheap, abusive jerks.