Balearic bars short staffed

The Majorcan Restaurant Association said yesterday that this summer the island's bars, restaurants and cafeterias are 10'000 members of staff short and there are fears that the lack of staff in the service sector is damaging the region's image and having a negative effect on the quality of service. The basic problem, according both of the island's restaurant associations, is the lack of qualified staff and not even the Hostelry School is able to help fill the gaps. As a result, unqualified and inexperienced people have been employed by the bar and restaurant sector during the peak months of the year, “which is not the best solution,” according to the President of the PIMEM Restaurant Association, Joan Fuster, who added “we can only hope that clients understand the unusual circumstances.” Fuster said the situation is especially frustrating for the restaurant and bar sector which has been working hard to improve the standards of quality “but when we have staff problems, it is quality which suffers.”