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Staff shortage crisis looms By Sue Newman
sue.n@theguardian.co.nz
With the start of the new dairy season just weeks away, the Ashburton District could be facing a labour crisis, says Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown. Calving will start within six weeks, Brown said, and with a large percentage of dairy farm staff drawn from the Philippines, the Covid-19 border closures meant many of
those were stranded in their home country. “These people are needed back on our farms and if they are contracted to their employer, then the farmer can’t simply go out and employ someone else, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he said. The council’s Welcoming Communities advisor, Janice McKay, said she was aware that more than 40 families belonging to the Mid Canterbury Filipino Dairy Farmers’
Group were stranded and unable to come home to New Zealand. That meant they were worried about job security and income as well as the difficult situation their employer would be in, she said. And while there might be people who had lost jobs in the district, that didn’t mean those people were work ready with appropriate dairy industry skills, councillor Angus McKay said.
“Is it possible to have these new people trained up in time if dairy staff cannot return in time,” he said. McKay suggested there was inequality at play when an overseas film crew could get dispensation to enter New Zealand while essential workers could not return home.
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