HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Hiring and retaining workers in the middle of a pandemic has been hard enough for employers in Guam’s food and beverage industry. Adding the Covid-19 vaccination mandate to the picture is cutting both ways.
Some businesses have started to lose valuable employees because of the mandate despite offering options in order to keep them, such as weekly testing for those who choose not to be vaccinated.
On the other hand, businesses face hefty fines for violating the mandate, which the governor said is meant to drive up the vaccination rate to help curb the spread of Covid-19.
“We’re sad to lose three great cooks over the vaccine mandate. We respect their decision and we’re not holding it against them. But there’s also a mandate that we have to comply with,” said Yazmine Gresham, supervisor at Hambros, a restaurant in Tumon that features burgers and fries.
Gresham said Hambros would have preferred to keep the three valuable and reliable employees, especially with the current shortage of restaurant workers.
“It’s hard enough to find workers during a pandemic and now the vaccine mandate is making it hard to keep (staff) we already have. We have no choice but to look for three new employees. It’s been difficult to hire people, especially the right people, these days. Most of all, we are looking for reliable people,” Gresham said on Friday.
The shortage of restaurant workers is not unique to Guam. Across the United States, business owners are grappling with the same reality as customers begin coming back.
With the end of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance coverage, which was a lifeline for tens of thousands of unemployed and underemployed Guam workers, some restaurant employers hope more people will return to the job market.
“We are hiring cooks, kitchen staff. You can walk in with your résumé or you can contact us through Facebook or call us to apply,” Gresham said.
For International Dining Concepts, which owns and operates several restaurants including Beachin’ Shrimp, California Pizza Kitchen and Ban Thai Restaurant & Lounge, vaccination is not a requirement to apply for any of the available jobs.
“The issue of vaccination only comes up when the job is offered to the applicant, along with a health certificate,” IDC human resource manager Jude Diaz said.
Diaz said IDC respects the position of its employees on the vaccine mandate, while also educating the employees on the advantages of getting vaccinated as well as their options to keep their jobs without vaccination, such as weekly testing.
“And so far, we haven’t lost any employee because of the mandate,” Diaz said.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has mandated that employees in restaurants, bars and other businesses be vaccinated by Sept. 27 or they won’t be allowed to enter the establishments.
If they do not want to be vaccinated, they can submit to weekly Covid-19 testing. They also can apply for an exemption for medical or religious reasons, although the Department of Public Health and Social Services has not released information on how many workers have requested exemptions.
Diaz said IDC has maintained its employee benefit packages throughout the pandemic to remain competitive.
The Boka Box in Hagåtña, which prides itself as Guam’s first nutritionally sound meal preparation service, also has been searching for kitchen assistants, but like many others, it’s been faced with hiring challenges.
The company’s minimum requirement is for applicants to apply in person.
“We’ve had multiple applicants. But they’re online applications. They only want to apply online and that may be because of the PUA job search. But when we ask them to visit us in person, they don’t show up. To us, showing up in person means you are serious about the job,” said The Boka Box marketing manager Francis Valencia. “Some want to work for us as a part-time, but the hours are in conflict with their full-time jobs or, if they’re students, the hours conflict with their studies. We are short-staffed, and I think many of us are facing the same problem.”
Some restaurants have been posting job vacancies in newspapers and on social media, such as Uptown Pub & Grill in Yigo, which has been looking for bartenders.
Others also host job fairs, such as one that is coming up Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CPK Hagåtña across from Skinner Plaza. Ban Thai Restaurant & Lounge also will be on site hoping to hire workers.
Dozens of doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine are ready to be administered at the University of Guam Calvo Field House in Mangilao on Sept. 13. Some who work in the restaurant industry have opted not to get vaccinated.
