Kuwait: Severe shortage of workers in hotel and restaurant sector

The Kuwait hotel and restaurant sector is suffering from a severe shortage in the number of specialized workers including delivery services, due to the continued closure and prevention of recruitment from abroad for a number of service sectors, local media reported.

According to Arabic daily Al-Qabas newspaper, a government report revealed a decrease in the total number of workers in accommodation and food services during the period between March 2020 and March 2021, with a total of 8,641 workers.

Head of the restaurants Union Fahad Al-Arbash told Al-Qabas, “Restaurant owners have been unable to operate properly due to the suspension of the recruitment of foreign workers and scarcity of specialized workers with experience such as cooks, bakers, sweets makers and others.”

Jaber al-Sharif, owner of a delivery company, said the ban on bringing in workers from abroad, coupled with the shortage of manpower locally, has contributed to an increase in salaries and transfer between companies due to competition and financial temptations offered to them.

As per the media reports, salaries for catering workers doubled due to a shortage of workers. A cleaner at a restaurant now earns 300 Kuwaiti dinars compared to 150 Kuwaiti dinars in the past, while specialists in the restaurant sector receive 1000 Kuwaiti dinars compared to 400 Kuwaiti dinars in the past.