Malcolm Dixon: Are we brave enough to take up the challenge?

Malcolm Dixon.

Every year when our senior students were leaving Frimley Primary I talked to them all about the importance of having a strong work ethic.

I told them no matter what their academic ability, their cultural or sporting prowess, their popularity, when they leave Frimley everyone would be back to being an equal and those with the strongest work ethic would succeed.

What is work ethic?
It is the ability to turn up on time ready and prepared for the task in hand.
It is arriving with the right attitude to do your very best and to learn from others.
It is being supportive of your workmates and them supporting you.
It is being dedicated to what you are doing and actually earning the wage you are collecting.
It is being prepared to listen. Give me a listener over a talker any day.
It is being honest, reliable, trustworthy and not taking unnecessary risks.
Above all people should enjoy working with you. Be true to yourself and your personality.

At the end of the day, you are actually responsible for your own success and your failure. The sooner you realise that and you accept it, and integrate it into your work ethic, you will start being successful. As long as you blame others for the reason that you are not where you want to be, you will always be a failure.

Recently I heard of two fabulous stories.

The first one a local viticulturist has for many years employed a band of gold carders to hand picks his grapes. Year after year they return and they use the money they earn to go on an overseas trip, replace their car or a household appliance.

They turn up everyday on time and they have never let him down.

The second one paints a different picture, another viticulturist went in to Work and Income NZ and said he had six weeks work for 20 people hand picking grapes. He heard nothing so 10 days later he went back and asked why.

They weren't interested because of the impact it would have on their unemployment benefit. He went out to a local Samoan Church and made the same request. They fronted the next day with 20 workers and they worked the full six weeks not always the same 20 but they always had 20.

Both stories are about pride, serving the community, achieving an extra income and having a strong work ethic.

Here in New Zealand we have a systemic problem. We have three or maybe four generations of New Zealanders who have never been employed. They have no idea what it feels like to work and experience the collegiality, the comradeship, the skill development, the thrill of having actually earning a pay packet, the reason to wake up and get up in the morning to go to work and actually getting their hands dirty.

Everyone needs a second or maybe third chance so I believe with the right guidance, support and enthusiasm from all parties this idea should be given a chance.

Right throughout New Zealand and in particular here in Hawke's Bay there is an extreme shortage of seasonal workers especially in the first half of every year.

My Idea.

Those on an income benefit are all offered a four-month period of time during each calendar year where they can work in additional employment with a registered employee and it has no impact on their benefit.

It would cost the Government no extra as they are already on a benefit.

The Government would gain from the additional tax that would be paid.

The crime statistics would be reduced because those currently unemployed and bored would be in meaningful employment.

Seasonal employers would benefit because there would be a huge increase in the available workforce.

Employees would benefit because they have been given a golden opportunity to re enter the workforce without any penalty. The additional income would give them a much needed leg up and possibly get them over the poverty line. It may even lead them into fulltime employment.

The self-esteem they would gain from being meaningfully employed would work wonders for their health and wellbeing. It would very quickly determine those who wanted to work and those who had no desire to better themselves.

Now that the idea is out there I am wondering who is brave enough to take up the challenge and make it work.

We can't carry on the way we are going - something has to change.

As a child my father said to me if I wanted spending money I had to earn it. So I developed an early work ethic. My parents taught me that work ethic is one of the important keys in life and I believe it. It today's world everyone needs to have the opportunity to experience the pleasures of actually having a job.

* Malcolm Dixon is a Hastings District Councillor and a former school principal