Hoteliers urge govt to help speed up foreign worker hiring for them too

• "The hotel sector has found it to be difficult to replenish our workforce as hotel jobs are perceived as 3D -- dirty, dangerous and difficult — which has long been considered unappealing by locals. We also have a problem recruiting new talents as the younger generations, Gen-Z who prefer gig economy jobs and tend not to prefer working long hours despite overtime pays."

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): Strained by worker shortage, hoteliers want to be included in the five critical sectors for which the government is helping to speed up the hiring of foreign workers by processing and approving their applications within three working days.

The hoteliers — represented by Malaysian Association of Hotels, Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners and Malaysia Budget & Business Hotels Association — expressed their disappointment in a statement on Tuesday for not having been included among the five — manufacturing, construction, plantation, agriculture and services (restaurants only) — sectors and sub-sectors.

"Our sector was one of the worst hit during the pandemic as businesses are unable to operate due to the declined patronage and strict pandemic SOP of the time; displacing many employees from the hospitality industry, which then were snapped up by other industries.

"The hotel sector has found it to be difficult to replenish our workforce as hotel jobs are perceived as 3D -- dirty, dangerous and difficult — which has long been considered unappealing by locals. We also have a problem recruiting new talents as the younger generations, Gen-Z who prefer gig economy jobs and tend not to prefer working long hours despite overtime pays," the associations said in a joint statement.

They also said previously employed hotel staff that were displaced because of the pandemic are not keen on rejoining, as they have built their career in other sectors during the lapsed period. Locals also do not tend to stay long in hotel jobs, and their high turnover rate makes it hard for hoteliers to maintain a consistent standard of service, the associations said.

The higher standard of safety and hygiene post-pandemic that hotels have to adhere to also means additional work that requires more hands or longer working hours, they said.

"Without sufficient manpower to man the amenities we offer, we cannot provide adequate services to the patrons. Eventually, this will affect the country’s tourism reputation as our hospitality standard declines. This decline undermines the government's effort to have Malaysia be the destination of choice for tourism, especially in Southeast Asia, particularly our competitiveness in comparison to countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam," they said.

The associations also stressed that the local hotel sector is not prioritising the hiring of foreign workers over locals, but instead is seeking help as they are facing acute manpower shortage in critical positions such as housekeeping and F&B areas, "which is why our sector heavily relies on foreign worker employment, which depends dearly on how fast our applications can be processed and approved".

As such, they hope the Ministry of Human Resources will review its plan and include the hotels, which are under the services sector, among those for whom it will speed up the processing of applications for the hiring of foreign workers.

"The hotel sector was the first to be hit and the last to recover from the pandemic. Our associations appeal to the ministry to help us in our recovery. We welcome any opportunity to engage with the ministry to ensure the future success of the hotel sector in Malaysia," they added.