February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — The café chain Bewleys has been forced to hire 60 percent of its staff in Britain and continental countries even though official figures show there are 230,000 unemployed in the country.
Chairman Patrick Campbell said many people were effectively using the safety net of social welfare "as a hammock."
"We as a society are tolerating this and we are not prepared to grasp the nettle," he said.
He said the company had been forced to hire staff in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Scandinavia after a £5 million investment program and upgrading of the flagship Grafton Street cafe.
The company had also failed to find enough staff for its bakery and coffee production units.
Follow us on social media
Keep up to date with the latest news with The Irish Echo
He said the company had searched extensively for local staff, doing leaflet drops, advertising and through local community agencies.
Campbell said there appeared to be a problem with some people not wanting to work and content to live on social welfare payments and others who were operating in the black economy.
He said the average industrial wage was £250 a week and they were offering £230 a week to people when they qualified.
He said the young people from continental countries were attracted to the city because Dublin was seen as a "hip place to be," they used the job to improve their English or wanted to make a career in catering.