In Saguenay, many businesses have decided to close their doors during the construction holidays, despite the tourist traffic. The labor shortage is once again in question.
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These two weeks will allow employees to rest, but also for some companies to catch up on the backlog due to the lack of staff.
“In April, I found myself almost alone whereas usually I have five production employees,” explained the owner of Justin Maltais Photo, Jean Maltais.
Its only long-time employee is 77 years old and the one who could take over the reins of the company, founded in the 1960s, already works more than 12 hours a day.
“She is ready, but she needs support to move forward,” said Mr. Maltais. I’m ready to give a few more years, but you never know what can happen.
This is the first time that he has had to close his business during the construction holidays.
“We close to customers, but we continue to work to complete contracts that should already be completed. We have to catch up, he said. It is certain that it creates dissatisfaction in situations like these, but in general, customers are understanding because often, they too experience the same thing.
Several restaurateurs have also made the decision to close during the holidays.
These closures are generally welcomed, but cause disappointment among some tourists.
“It’s already been 3 or 4 times that we have to turn around because the restaurants have been closed since the start of our vacation,” said one of them.
The employees of these businesses are satisfied. This is the case of Marc-André Tremblay.
The one who works as a cook at Resto Roberto in Chicoutimi had not planned to take a vacation, but he intends to take advantage of it.
“I’m so used to working non-stop that I thought I’d find a job somewhere else for two weeks, but in the end I’m taking a vacation,” he explained.
Closing is not a choice according to the cook, but a necessity.
“We are not machines. We work hard to compensate for the lack of staff, but at some point the corps has its limits,” said Mr. Tremblay, who believes that this trend is here to stay.
The restaurateurs who had made the decision to close last summer during the holidays have also chosen to repeat the experience in 2022.