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Britain's curry crisis

Indian and Bangladeshi restaurateurs face shortages of chefs and waiters amid tight immigration curbs on hiring from overseas

LONDON - Britain's curry houses are in the grip of a crisis.

Throughout the country, Indian restaurateurs say they are struggling with finding staff, the BBC reported.

Industry representatives in Britain are lobbying MPs and appealing to the Home Office for crisis curry talks.

Mr Ahmed Koysor's experience is typical of many across the country.

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He and his partners run the Sonorgaon restaurant in London. The business has tried to bring in workers from Bangladesh - but none of the recruits have been given the go-ahead.

'It's been really difficult to recruit locally,' he said. 'We have tried hiring eastern European staff but they have been mostly useless. No skills, no understanding of what we do. And besides, they need to speak the language of the kitchen if we are going to be good at what we do.'

His colleague Hamid Chowdhury says staff shortages are so common the industry is facing a curry house cull.

'Kids don't want to get into the restaurant business. Their horizons are far bigger than before. So if we can't recruit, what are we supposed to do?'

There are no official figures but industry sources estimate 50,000 people are employed in the business, making it a bigger employer than shipbuilding.

The vast majority of establishments are actually owned by the Bangladeshi community - which is where the visa problems have emerged.

Last year, the government said it would allow workers into Britain on 12-month visas to fill shortages in catering and hospitality.

If an employer can prove to the Home Office that he cannot recruit locally - and the bar is high - he is given permission to recruit overseas, at a cost of £153 (S$480) per visa.

The recruit must then convince immigration officials in Bangladesh that he will not overstay his limit in Britain.

But according to the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), an independent agency with 30 years of experience in the field, such was the demand from Indian restaurants, they used up the entire quota for Bangladesh within weeks.

The IAS estimates Britain may have initially approved up to 10,000 work permit applications for workers from Bangladesh. But the vast majority are now being refused entry, many because officials believe they will outstay their visa.

Added to that, there are numerous reports of corruption, with visas being 'sold' to the highest bidders, fraud and false documents.

'No one can appreciate how it is that two parts of the same government department can give conflicting decisions,' says Mr Keith Best, of the IAS.
 

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