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16th Jun - 22nd Jun
FIRST ON THE STREET
No 755
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
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Turning up the dial on the pressure cooker I tip my hat to the efforts of government departments Ministry of Social Development and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for coming to Queenstown and speaking to employers as part of the Kia Kaha Queenstown Lakes Hub. They might not have good news to share, but along with local community and business advisors giving their time to offer advice, we have never had a better opportunity for informative direct contact. It was enlightening and frightening at the same time. I am becoming increasingly alarmed at the lack of foresight from the Government regarding our migrant workforce. I have been in business here since the late 1990’s and over this time have not only understood the important role migrants play in our workforce, but also their contribution to the vibrancy and quality of life in our region. Feeling the room last Thursday, it was obvious my fellow employers were deeply concerned for the future of their workforce. A quick straw poll of my peers found that we have 30-60% migrant employees making up our workforce. Most will be gone by September if they cannot get their visas renewed. That is despite wanting to keep them, pay them well and support their visa renewals. The humanitarian disaster is already unfolding for those migrants already made redundant. But even for a business that does not need to make positions redundant, this is a looming business continuity disaster. How are we supposed to rebuild from the disruption of lockdown restrictions, deal with a reduced market size and work our way back to a trading profit, or at least limit the losses, while losing key trained staff as they cannot renew their visas - AND introduce 50% or more new staff to our workforce who all need training and introduction to our business culture. Talk about turning up the dial on the pressure cooker. Every effort must be made to employ a New Zealander first. We all get that. Kiwis First. This is not new advice from INZ. However, INZ are now doubling down suggesting that the chances of visa renewals are unlikely and our migrant community head back to where they come from. The problem I foresee is that as the economy recovers, and more jobs become available, New Zealanders who have relocated here and taken the position previously held by a migrant, will move on, back to where they came from. For a tourism focused town, we will then have an issue attracting staff to replace those short-term Kiwi job fillers. The last thing we need now is to send the backbone of our town packing only to need them again in 6-12 months’ time. I did sense a glimmer of understanding from the INZ staff in attendance at the Kia Kaha Queenstown Lakes Hub. However, do not expect that glimmer of understanding for this Queenstown specific problem to turn into a positive solution anytime soon. Scott Stevens scott@qmg.co.nz
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