Jim’s Mowing desperate for workers after surge in demand amid COVID-19 pandemic
A key employer in an industry that could barely operate during Victoria’s harsh lockdown is now looking to put on thousands of workers.
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Australia’s leading mowing and gardening service is looking to employ thousands of extra franchisees after requests for work surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jim’s Mowing owner Jim Penman said job requests were up 13 per cent since the start of the pandemic in March, with requests unable to be serviced due to the lockdown.
“We‘ve actually had our fastest growth in franchisees for more than a decade, up to 4133 as of today, though some of these are suspended due to the Victorian lockdown and other reasons,” he said.
“There is enough pent-up demand for us to put on 2-3000 more people, including franchisees and their workers.”
Employment in Victoria fell by 36,000 jobs in September, following a further 37,000 drop in August, meaning more than 73,000 jobs were lost across the two months.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s unemployment rate also inched higher to 6.9 per cent in September from 6.8 per cent in August.
But there was hope the economy can start to rebuild with Victorians waking up to their final day of lockdown measures on Tuesday.
“People are talking about a long road to recovery which may be the case, but there are areas of the economy like ours that could go explode and is exploding,” Mr Penman said.
Since March there have been nearly 30,000 requests for lawn mowing, almost 21,000 requests for antenna repairs and maintenance, 15,515 jobs in dog washing and 12,616 in fencing.
Mr Penman said there was also demand in car detailing, carpet cleaning, termite and pest control, tree maintenance, and window and pressure cleaning.
Major industries such as retail, hospitality and beauty will reopen on Wednesday after Monday’s announcement by Premier Daniel Andrews it was “time to open up”.
From November 8 the government will announce further changes, with the fitness industry set to make a comeback.
The developments follow Victoria recording no new coronavirus cases for the first time in 139 days on Monday.
“This day belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team to bring this second wave to an end,” Mr Andrews said.
But despite the positive news Mr Penman was still determined to chase compensation for his 700 franchisees who he said were “unfairly prevented from working” amid Victoria’s harsh lockdown.
The mowing magnate said his franchisees and respective self-employed tradesmen had been affected over about 12 weeks of lockdown, losing about $3000 a week.
The 700 franchisees have also joined a Carbone Lawyers multi-million-dollar class action against the Victorian government, pushing for about $20 million in compensation.
Originally published as Jim’s Mowing desperate for workers after surge in demand amid COVID-19 pandemic