Concern New Zealand immigration rule changes may create labour shortages in some sectors

CGC Landscapes director David Clayton-Greene was "blindsided" when three migrant staff quit to take driving jobs. Photo / Alex Cairns

A workplace lawyer warns recent immigration changes could cause more labour shortages as workers switch to occupations that offer better residency prospects.

It comes after a landscaper told NZME he was “blindsided” after losing three migrant staff to the trucking industry, and an immigration adviser said one client left his job as a mechanic to be a bus driver for a faster pathway to residency.

Immigration New Zealand says the changes “simplified” the system, and supported economic growth and critical infrastructure.

Opponents have labelled the rules “totally biased” and “bad policy”, while hospitality and restaurant sector leaders said operators could not pay residency-seekers the three times New Zealand’s median wage most would need.

There are three skills-based pathways to New Zealand residency: the occupation-based Green List; skilled migrant resident pathway (SMC); and the care workforce or transport agreements.

The SMC targeted skills rather than occupations, and, from this week, has a streamlined six-point eligibility system, replacing a 180-point system with wider criteria.

Under the new system, the higher a migrant’s occupational registration, recognised qualification or income, the more points. Work experience in New Zealand offers up to three points. General criteria around factors such as age, health and character still apply.

Visa director Jock Gilray said it targeted migrants who could fill medium-to-long-term skills needs that were hard or took a long time to fill with workers already in New Zealand.

The transport agreement offers a two-year work-to-residence pathway for truck and bus drivers, plus two maritime roles. Eligible migrants who had worked two years in New Zealand could apply from September 29.

Gilray said the agreement supported “critical national infrastructure” while the industry worked to increase training of New Zealanders. There was a $28-an-hour exemption to the 1.5-times median wage rule for some bus roles.

In Bay of Plenty, CGC Landscapes director David Clayton-Greene said the company had been “blindsided” recently by losing three migrant employees who became truck drivers to gain a shortcut to residency.

He said none wanted to leave and were up front about their reasons. The company had spent a lot of time and money training those workers and while he understood why they left, he felt the system was seriously flawed.

In his view: “They had no choice and some of them had to relocate to the South Island. There is the short-term pain of how it’s affected straight away and there is the long-term implications of attracting staff in the future.”

Clayton-Greene said the 29-year-old company had managed to fill some positions, but he felt “helpless” with the new rules.

“I feel it is totally biased because every industry is screaming out and struggling to find workers. To nominate a couple of industries over and above others … is totally insulting.”

He said attracting future workers from overseas would be more difficult because they would go to other countries if there were no hope of residency.

Clayton-Greene said the company had been in business for 29 years, but he felt helpless.

“We just have to roll with the punches and see what happens.”

Licensed immigration adviser Erin Goodhue, of Goodhue Immigration, said the changes would make residency tougher for migrants and would hinder employers.

Most of her clients would struggle to meet the six-point threshold because they did not earn $44.49 an hour or above.

“I know of at least one client who has left his job as a mechanic and gone to be a bus driver, because he’s got a pathway to residence.”

She said the six-point scheme effectively added bureaucratic hoops for employers to jump through to access the migrant workforce, with complaints about extra application processes, costs and time delays.

“They’re also mindful of migrant employees seeking ‘top dollar’ as immigration rules focus strongly on a visa applicant’s remuneration level.

“The new system narrows the definition of a skilled migrant down to those earning 1.5 times the median wage or above, those with bachelor degrees or higher or those in jobs that require registration, and this is just too narrow an interpretation for us to attract the skills and experience we need.”

Copeland Ashcroft Workplace Lawyers partner Naoimh McAllister said some “sectors may face labour shortages” because employees may move to other occupations where they could claim points.

“The new scheme means well to attract high-skilled migrant workers. However, we need people to do essential roles such as cleaning hotel rooms, picking fruit, feeding herds and building a roof.”

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / Mead Norton

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said the new requirements were a “bad policy”.

“Many of these hands-on industries are unable to attract Kiwis to do this work, despite all their long-term efforts. At the very least, there needs to be a grandfather clause that keeps the status quo for those employees who are already in the pathway to residency.

“This avoids industries like construction having the rug pulled by this policy, leaving a vacuum of vacancies as existing workers rush into the jobs excluded from this policy.”

A Hospitality NZ spokesman said the six-point system reinforced its frustrations with immigration system changes in the past few years.

Hospitality career progression centred around on-the-job experience. Most roles were not captured by the qualification points required for the new scheme and hospitality operators could not pay three times the median wage to get those staff.

Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois acknowledged it was a simpler points system that was good for users, “however, not for our industry”.

In July, Deepak Kundal, who owns six businesses including Leonardo’s, the Beer Garden and CBK, said he was concerned the changed criteria for migrant chefs to qualify for residency was “unjustifiable” and “ridiculous”.

“I’ve seen hardly any Kiwi chefs applying for jobs, so we are looking overseas and hiring staff from Fiji, Dubai.”

The changes meant migrant chefs with a two-year cooking diploma would not be eligible for residency because they did not have a degree, he said.

Immigration New Zealand policy director Andrew Craig said the SMC was designed around skills, not specific occupations.

“The new simplified points system offers several ways for people to demonstrate their skill level … including up to three points from skilled work experience in New Zealand.”

He said hospitality workers could come to New Zealand on a work visa, and may be able to work their way into a role earning 1.5 times the median wage, which would provide them with a residence pathway under the SMC.

Carmen Hall is a news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, covering business and general news. She has been a Voyager Media Awards winner, and a journalist for 25 years.