Employee crisis brewing for shop
THE side effects of Gladstone's industry boom seem never-ending.
Gloria Jeans, at the NightOwl shopping centre, is one of many small business feeling the pinch of big industry poaching all the city's workers.
Since it first opened its doors four years ago, the store has continued to grow in popularity around the community.
Leah Jones (pictured) has worked as a barista at Gloria Jeans for just over six months and can already see the shop's struggle to retain staff.
Jones said that although the store is busier than ever, it is experiencing an unusually high staff turnover which has resulted in an alteration of opening hours.
"We used to be open six till six seven days a week but we can't stay open those hours anymore because we just don't have the staff to cover the hours," she said.
"We find it very difficult to hold staff and we are struggling to get them here in the first place."
Ms Jones said the problem stemmed from a number of causes linked to the growth of Gladstone.
She said they are unable to compete with big industry in regard to wages.
"We can't afford to pay staff the same hourly rates as those big companies."
Many people moving to Gladstone also see it as a temporary job to set themselves up in the area before moving onto industry jobs.
"We need permanent staff," urges Jones, explaining that it is difficult to find people willing to work the early mornings. "Many people who are willing to work for our wages also want to only work school hours, so we still don't have enough staff to cover our hours," Ms Jones said.
