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For patrons of heartland coffee shops, it has been one piece of bad news after another. First, they had to pay a bit more for their daily cup of coffee. Then they were told to brace themselves for another price hike, possibly in the next six months. Now, they face the prospect of not having their regular meals at the zi char stall. Operators of zi char stalls, which serve restaurant-style dishes at modest prices, are having difficulty recruiting workers. Unlike the one-dish stalls that sell, say, chicken rice, zi char stalls are labour-intensive as the cooks prepare most dishes from scratch. A typical stall would have five to seven workers, besides the all-important cook.
According to officials of coffee shop trade associations, many stalls have ceased business or are considering closing because of the labour problem. Available Singaporeans avoid the work not just because the pay, an average $5 an hour, is unattractive. Working conditions are also unappealing - 12 hours on their feet the whole day, the hot wok and the often wet floor, not to mention the grease and the soot. Older workers who would otherwise be doing such work prefer fast-food joints that are much more pleasant places to work in.
The economy is maturing, and it is inevitable that small businesses that hire cheap help like zi char stalls will find it hard to keep going. Besides the labour crunch, operators also have to pay higher rents now for their stalls. Hiring foreign workers is one solution, but so far, the Ministry of Manpower has been dogged in its insistence that only Singaporeans and permanent residents are permitted to work in such stalls.
But it has allowed coffee shop owners to hire a limited number of Chinese nationals. It's hard to appreciate the logic in drawing the line at zi char stalls, which are an integral part of the same heartland food terrain.
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