Unwelcome in a new home

By ANGELA GREGORY

A recently arrived Indian couple say New Zealand should shut its doors until it can deliver jobs to skilled immigrants.

Their savings dwindling, Rani and Basant are thinking of heading back to northern India after realising their skills will not be recognised here.

The pair shed their surnames in India because of discrimination based on the caste system.

But Rani and Basant said they had not expected to find discrimination in New Zealand, which had a reputation as a fair and multicultural society.

"New Zealanders claim to be open minded, but the reality is somewhat different."

The determined pair arrived in Auckland last December to make a new life.

They chose to do without furniture and sleep on the floor so they could instead invest in a computer and car to enhance their employment opportunities.

But "the so-called egalitarian society," where they understood their talents were needed, quickly let them down , Rani said.

Between them they have degrees in sciences, business administration and economics.

But the fluent English speakers cannot find the skilled work they seek.

Basant has found a job serving petrol, but they have to dip into their savings to meet the rent.

Feeling ripped off, Rani and Basant now have to decide whether to stay in New Zealand or leave while they can still afford to.

Rani said the major block to even getting a job interview seemed to be their accents.

"So much of initial screening is over the telephone - we can't get past it and it's very frustrating. All we ask is for employers to be a bit more open minded."

Rani said the New Zealand Government did not tell them that the work they were skilled in would not be available.

"When they open the doors it's implicit the jobs are here. We were never warned we would not get them - if that's the case then they should close the doors."

Their experience and education levels easily met entry requirements, but did not seem to be understood by employers here.

Rani and Basant both worked in top managerial positions with the Inland Revenue Department in northern India, but would be delighted to get even clerical work in New Zealand.

Their plight highlights concerns already raised by Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel.

Ms Dalziel told the Herald this month that she wanted more accurate information made available to potential immigrants.

"Their expectations are built up, but if they then can't find work it is a terrible result."

Ms Dalziel also wanted immigrants to be better supported when they got here.

"I am keen to see settlement policies implemented this year so we don't forget people after they arrive in New Zealand."

She said immigration policy should not be just about numbers arriving but how well they settled so the benefits could be shared by all.

"Employment is the key measure of how well they settle."

mShe was concerned that staff recruitment agencies used by many large New Zealand companies were not familiar with the different culture, educational institutions and training of overseas immigrants.

"They are the gatekeepers to jobs ... It is a barrier."

The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust executive director, Trudie McNaughton, said a study last year found discrimination by recruitment agencies against even the most highly skilled immigrants.

The trust was now starting a campaign to encourage skilled job seekers to approach members of the EEO Employer Group.

Some 293 private and public sector organisations, including some of the country's largest and best-known companies, belong to the group.