Singapore is ready to party, but clubs from Zouk to Marquee first need jobseekers to show up
- As officials dial down pandemic rules, the city state’s bars, restaurants and nightclubs are racing to reopen, sparking an intense hiring drive
- But F&B operators say they’re hampered by foreign-worker quotas and the challenge of hiring locals who shun the sector and say the gig economy pays better
After two years, Singapore nightclubs finally reopened on April 19 but instead of roaring back to life, the industry’s biggest players are sputtering.
The city’s best-known club Zouk opened at half its capacity a day later, while the massive Marquee, which houses an indoor Ferris wheel and a giant slide, has yet to announce an opening date.
The problem is not demand, but manpower.
As the city state relaxes its pandemic rules, there has been a flurry of reopening – from clubs and karaoke establishments to restaurants and bars finally being allowed to sell alcohol past 10.30pm – and operators are on a hiring drive. This has created stiff competition and many businesses cannot employ enough workers to cope with the happy problem of an exuberant returning crowd.
Marquee – located at the swanky Marina Bay Sands where it occupies 2,300 square metres across three floors – is advertising 17 roles, from resident DJs to lighting programmers, VIP hosts, bartenders and cashiers.
Marina Bay Sands, one of Marquee’s operators, declined to comment on the nightclub’s staffing situation but said its sister outlet Avenue Lounge was ready to welcome partygoers on April 29 and would open till 6am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Zouk Group chief executive Andrew Li told This Week in Asia that the club – which was fully booked for a month and had a long wait-list amid “overwhelming” demand – was not able to hire in time for the slated reopening date.
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Nightclubs were only told on April 4 that they could reopen in two weeks. “Every role has been difficult to fill due to the labour crunch in the market,” Li said, adding that the company’s office workers had been roped to help with Zouk’s opening week.
He added that the group, which has restaurants and bars under its umbrella, would also deploy staff from its other businesses to plug the gaps and cut the club’s opening hours until the staffing crisis was over.
About 90 per cent don’t turn up for the arranged interviews
Ronald Kamiyama, managing partner at Cicheti Group, said the company’s Italian-cuisine focused establishments had been bustling since officials began allowing people to dine in groups of 10 instead of five.
He said he was constantly recruiting, and hired about 10 workers in recent months.
“I believe Singapore has a lot of new outlets and restaurants, and hotels are also pulling front-of-house and kitchen staff. It is a little harder to hire than before; definitely competitive,” said Kamiyama, adding that some people were not even showing up for interviews.
Desmond Chin, manager at craft beer bar Taproom, said he had a lot of responses for his job advertisements, but “about 90 per cent don’t turn up for the arranged interviews”.
Restaurateurs are also hampered by quotas on the number of foreign workers they can hire. For every 10 locals working at a food and beverage (F&B) business, an operator can hire one S Pass holder – someone who earns at least S$2,500 a month – as well as five Malaysian or North Asian Work Permit holders. Those with five local workers can only hire two people on work permits.
Chin and Kamiyama said it was a struggle to hire local staff. Many did not like split shifts, some former workers who were let go during the pandemic had moved on to better-paying jobs in the gig economy, while part-time hours suited students but they tended to shun working on weekends and public holidays.
“S Pass and Work Permit holders really want the jobs. They study hospitality and go to management schools,” Kamiyama said. “Unfortunately, because of the regulations, you need a specific number of local workers before you can hire them. So we’re still looking for local talent.”
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Meanwhile, overall employment of locals was at an all-time high as the country recovered from the recession it suffered two years ago. The citizen unemployment rate was just 3.2 per cent in March.
A letter published in The Straits Times newspaper last month called for the government to stop classifying the F&B industry under the services sector, to which the quotas apply, so businesses could hire more foreigners.
“F&B establishments such as cafes and eateries are facing a manpower shortage as many Singaporeans have no desire to work in this sector due to the long hours and less comfortable working conditions,” said letter writer Yeo Thye Lye. “Many F&B operators have no choice but to rely on foreign workers. We are not asking for a drastic increase in the foreign worker quota, but for a reasonable allotment.”
Meanwhile, as Zouk Group staff take on multiple roles, Cicheti Group says it is hiring people to work just the night shift instead of the usual split shifts of 10.30am to 2.30pm, then 5pm till closing.
Taproom’s Chin has shortened the food menu because he has only five workers on the roster when seven would be ideal. He also does not have the luxury to be fussy when hiring.
“You just grab whoever is willing to come in, regardless of capability,” he said. “Even if they are not a good fit for the team, you just have to close one eye because you need the manpower.”
