How the lack of workers affected the price of souvlaki

Industry professionals face a major challenge in finding workers who know the “art” of making the traditional Greek dish souvlaki.

“We placed an ad but the phone is silent,” Nikos Angelousoulis, president of the Attica Grill Association, told CNN in Greece.

Although the catering industry as a whole faces a similar problem, in the case of steakhouses and kebabs (fast food establishments), there are additional difficulties and lack of motivation due to the nature of the work and the conditions in which workers must work (ψήστες και τυλιχτές). Mr. Angelousulis explains that this is a particularly difficult job, especially during the summer months when you have to spend many hours at the brazier (at the highest ambient temperatures).

“The senior staff of the souvlak shop, the guys who already got their hands on it, now go to other jobs, easier, or choose places where they are paid more. And there is no significant interest on the part of young people, ”he notes in a conversation with CNN Greece.

Professionals, in order to “patch holes” caused by a shortage of staff, either work overtime themselves, or take one day a week off, or “reduce” one of the day shifts. Wage hikes could possibly provide an incentive to find workers, but Mr. Angelousulis notes that there is currently no room for further increases in operating costs for businesses that have already been strangled by electricity prices and rising prices as early as last year. on raw materials.

In the end, part of this increase “fell on the shoulders” of the final consumer, who now has to pay exorbitant prices for souvlaki. “The price after the increase reached an average of 3-3.50 euros per gyros in Attica. However, in the last half of the year, prices have held at these stable levels without any new price increases. We want souvlaki to remain an affordable product for consumers,” says Mr. Angelousulis.

Until there is a de-escalation in commodity prices and the pressure on businesses from the cost of energy is reduced, it is expected that What is the price of souvlaki, the Greeks’ favorite street food? will be maintained at these levels, i.e. above 3 euros.

According to the expert, consumers are not ready to give up the habit of ordering souvlaki, but they have limited the frequency and quantity of their orders.

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