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HOTELIERS here are losing sleep over the worsening labour crunch, even as their occupancy and room rates continue to go up.
With new hotels like St Regis Singapore poaching staff from rivals, they expect the job-hopping problem in the industry to get worse as other new developments, like the integrated resorts join in the fray from next year.
One hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts, is taking a different approach at tackling the staff shortage problem. It held a job fair at its Orchard Road hotel on Monday to fill 40 part-time positions.
The fair was supported by the NTUC, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Singapore National Employers Federation and Singapore Tourism Board.
Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trade Unions Congress, Mr Heng Chee How, was the guest of honour at the fair's opening on Monday morning. He said the tight labour situation is going to be a problem that all industries will face in a buoyant economy.
Instead of just relying on two traditional manpower sources - school leavers and foreign workers - companies also need to look at ways to boost productivity as one source and tapping the inactive local manpower as another.
There are more than half a million women over 25 years who are unemployed and could be tapped for manpower needs.
Retirees and full-time housewives are also a potential pool which Royal Plaza on Scotts is eyeing. It is offering part-time work, with benefits like maternity leave, dental benefits and annual leave to lure them.
It is the first hotel to participate in the Flexi-Works programme introduced recently by WDA and the Manpower Ministry. The hotel is getting $100,000 funding from the authorities under the scheme.
Housewife Pauziah Hussien, 48, who was among those who turned up at the job fair on Monday, said: 'My children are all grown up and everything is so expensive now, so I want to come back to work to add to the family income.'
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