Businesses are calling for the Government to relax the rules regarding overseas workers. Photo / Getty Images
Businesses are calling for the Government to relax the rules regarding overseas workers. Photo / Getty Images
Businesses that are losing money, cutting back hours and dealing with "devastated" overseas workers stuck in "limbo"' have slammed Immigration NZ for not letting people in for jobs.
Employers spoken to by NZME said they were frustrated by the Government's tough stance which was amplified by the skilled labour shortage.
A business chamber has also hit out at the Ministry for Social Development and said if it adopted a "carrot-and-stick" approach more Kiwis could do the work.
But Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said the Government regularly reviewed border settings and made adjustments to exceptions where and when it was possible.
Ministry for Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant said experience showed the majority of people who received a benefit wanted to be self-reliant and have the dignity of work.
"We work hard to assist them in achieving their goals."
Hennessy's Bar owner and Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty branch president Reg Hennessy said he had eight job vacancies and chefs were doing dishes.
Business hours had been slashed and they were only open six days.
Hennessy's Bar owner and Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty branch president Reg Hennessy. Photo / Andrew Warner
Hennessy said the situation was desperate: "We are hurting."
The long-term effect was also concerning and he was worried about health and wellbeing.
"We are a family-run business my partner and myself and my daughter put a huge input into it but 50 to 60 hours a week is a bit much."
The Government needed to wake up, he said.
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bryce Heard. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce Bryce Heard said a lot of employers felt the choice of the benefit was more attractive than working.
"We need a stick-and-carrot approach to get the local people to do the work."
Elsewhere in the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga Hardware and Plumbing hired a South African plumber before Covid who was still waiting for Immigration NZ to let him in.
Managing director Craig McCord said it was "incredibly frustrating".
Tauranga Hardware and Plumbing managing director Craig McCord. Photo / George Novak
"He has sold his business and sold his house he is married with children and would be a perfect contributor to New Zealand.
"Prior to Covid he fulfilled all his immigration requirements ... now it is June and he is stuck in limbo and kind of up the creek without a paddle."
Tauranga Hardware and Plumbing had completed immigration certification for an exemption and was willing to pay the costs for managed isolation.
McCord said it was being told it should hire within the country but that was proving near-impossible due to the skills shortage.
Phil Van Syp of 1st Call Recruitment said if you can find a tradesperson at the moment "you are winning".
He had clients who had signed deals with skilled workers from overseas and everything was ready to roll, then it stopped.
Phil Van Syp of 1st Call Recruitment. Photo / Andrew Warner
"There is no indication when those wheels are going to get back in motion. The Government is dragging the chain on decision-making."
Van Syp said he wasn't just talking about tradies - it was roading, infrastructure and engineers.
Success Group Limited managing director Graham Rodgers said by his calculation the New Zealand workforce was short of 200,000 staff.
"We've got baby boomers retiring, and we haven't got young people coming through. So basically we don't have any staff left. We need them and where are they going to come from?"
Rodgers said the borders needed to open for workers and in his view, the Government was stalling because there was no accommodation.
"I believe it has bugger-all to do with Covid."
Success Group could place 150 Kiwi workers tomorrow if they could find them, he said.
Faafoi said the Government was aware of the challenges Covid had presented for businesses across many sectors.
"Our Covid health response regime has prevented community spread of the virus and allowed business activity to continue. The Government will continue to monitor the border and labour market situations."
Employment, Skills and Immigration Policy general manager at the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment, Ruth Isaac, in a written statement said the current unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent, which was down from its most recent peak of 5.2 per cent in September 2020.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The under-utilisation rate was 12.2 per cent and remains up from 10.1 per cent pre-Covid.
There were also a larger number of workers who wanted more hours and that work was simply not available, Isaac said.
The 12.2 per cent under-utilisation rate gave a broader measure of untapped capacity in the labour market which covered people who had jobs but wanted more hours, part-time workers, unemployed, those who wanted a job and those who were looking but could not start work straight away.
What is being done
• Last month the Government extended 10,000 Working Holiday and Supplementary Seasonal work visas that were due to expire between June 21 and December 31 for six months.
• It also gave open work rights to Supplementary Seasonal Employer work scheme visa open work rights.
• These changes provide employers with continued access to the current onshore workforce to help fill roles.
