THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nearly a half of Kerala Hotel & Restaurant Association (KHRA) members missed a study camp in Ponmudi on Monday, preoccupied with addressing staff shortages in their establishments.
The food sector, heavily reliant on migrants, faces a crisis with many returning home to take part in the general election.
“Members who did not attend the camp say they are concerned about shutting down their shops because of the labour shortage. The hotel industry is facing a severe crisis. Almost 60-80% of the staff have left,” says G Jayapal, president of KHRA.
Workers in the sector mostly hail from the northeast and West Bengal. The sector is heavily dependent on migrant workers for cleaning and kitchen help.
“Mass leave in this season is unprecedented. Most of them cited CAA and family pressure to vote for taking leave,” said Jayapal, adding that some of the employees took flights home.
Employee numbers started dwindling from April 15. And hoteliers are concerned that this labour is unlikely to return immediately after the election in their states.
Staff shortages extend beyond hotels, impacting the construction, logistics and manufacturing sectors, besides salons and stationary shops, according to manpower consulting firms.
“The migrants have been moving in batches of 20-50 in the last one month. It will be difficult to replace them,” said Antony X P of Business India Outsourcing, a contract labour company based in Ernakulam.
“People from Assam and northeastern states are mostly employed in hotels and as receptionists while those from Odisha and Bihar are involved in hard labour.”
The company has provided around 1,330 employees to 30 companies, an official said.
Migrants now make up one in four employees in Kerala, contributing significantly to the economy. According to the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), they support the informal sector through their annual spending of nearly `15,000 crore.
“The state will come to a standstill if significant numbers of migrants leave. But there is no such trend now,” said Benoy Peter, executive director of CMID.