Just buy a dishwashing machine? $3,500 monthly salary for dishwasher sparks online debate

When some food and beverage operators in Singapore are unable to find willing candidates to work as dishwashers, going automatic might seem to be the best solution for their troubles.

But not every form of manual labour can be done with machines.

On Thursday (May 25), AsiaOne ran a story about how several local eateries have been struggling to find willing candidates to take up the position of dishwashers – even with a rather attractive monthly salary $3,500. 

Chen Weixin, owner of Ishinomaki Grill & Sake said she even had to roll up her sleeves and wash the dishes, Shin Min Daily News reported.

She only managed to find a Malaysian worker willing to take up that job after putting up an offer of $3,500 a month.

In a Reddit thread shared on the same day, several netizens jumped in on the issue, with some saying that it "would make more sense" for these restaurants to buy industrial dish cleaning machines, instead of hiring someone to wash dishes by hand.

But a Reddit user, Nicky9499, said that many restaurants already have dish washing machines.

He countered that "someone" will still have to rinse off the bigger food chunks and load the dishes into the machine among other tasks.

Nicky9499 added: "All of this, in a cramped, hot, wet, humid, noisy and somewhat foul smelling corner of the outlet."

Another Redditor pointed out how "dishwashing is a position that will likely never have any progression". 

"So if you want to have someone take on the job permanently you need to offer a strong case," he said, asking what are the hours and environment like.

One Redditor added that there's "no reason to do a tough job like this" for $3,500 a month when even administrative jobs pay more as one progresses in that role. 

Others were sceptical about the $3,500 monthly salary for a dishwasher, asking how many hours one has to put into the job.

Taking a quick look at current job listings for dishwashers, AsiaOne found out that the pay ranges from between $1,500 to $2,500.

But MCI Career Services, a job recruitment agency, promised several incentives to draw applicants, including free health screenings, a massage chair and being able to "work with friends".

VillagePhilosopher on Reddit gave his take on why eateries are struggling to hire dishwashers.

"Nearly all things can be had for the right price. Pay enough and someone will do the job," he said.

chingshijie@asiaone.com