Watch: Beginner Waiters In Malta Should Expect €6 Or €7 An Hour, Restaurant Industry Leader Says
A beginner waiter in the current Maltese market can expect to earn anywhere between €6 and €7 an hour, over and above tips, secretary-general of the Association of Catering Establishments Matthew Pace said.
During a recent debate on the TVM show Realta’, Pace, who is a restaurateur himself, sought to combat perceptions that restaurateurs pay their staff peanuts and that this is resulting in an exodus of Maltese workers.
“This perception that they aren’t being paid well isn’t true,” he said. “Not even dishwashers are paid €4 and €5 an hour.”
Pace said that as it stands, a beginner waiter with absolutely no experience should expect to earn between €6-€7 an hour, rising to €9-€10 an hour for experienced waiters.
Meanwhile, sous-chefs can expect to earn €15 an hour, with head chefs earning even more.
“I get angry when I hear that restaurants are paying staff €4 or €5 an hour because it’s not on,” he said, urging people not to generalise the entire industry based on the behaviour of a few “cowboys”.
“We must base our arguments on what the majority of restaurants are doing, and the majority of restaurants are professional,” he said.
The debate was held after renowned chef and restaurateur Sean Gravina warned that the reason barely any Maltese people want to work in catering was a result of the industry’s working hours, not the salaries it offers.
Pace agreed with Gravina’s argument, stating he knows some former chefs who have switched jobs and are currently earning some €700 less a month than what they used to in the kitchen.
GWU secretary general Josef Bugeja (left) and chef Sean Gravina (right)
“We work on Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, during anti-social hours… these people aren’t even thinking of returning to the catering industry even though they used to earn more from it.”
Countering Pace’s argument, General Workers’ Union secretary-general Josef Bugeja referred to national statistics stating the average monthly salary for workers in “wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities” is €1,139.
“Yes, there are waiters who get paid €4.50 an hour,” he warned. “It would be a mistake to claim that all restaurants are paying their staff such low salaries but it’s a vicious circle that must be tackled because the industry isn’t attracting new staff and the current staff are losing their passion.”
However, Pace insisted that salary statistics should be more industry-specific and said waiters who feel underpaid can easily quit their job and find a better-paying position elsewhere.
How do you think the catering industry can become more attractive to workers?
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