News
FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – April 5, 2021
15
Dairy needs migrant workers Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz FEDERATED Farmers and DairyNZ are requesting the Government allow 500 migrant dairy staff into New Zealand to avoid a worker shortage in the new milking season. These staff would fill positions in the mid to high skilled employment category that New Zealanders new to the sector or in lower skilled dairy assistant roles would be unsuitable for in time for the 2021-22 season, Federated Farmers employment spokesperson Chris Lewis says. The request comes after the two organisations commissioned a survey in March to gain a better understanding of the staffing issues facing dairy employers. That survey drew 1150 responses in just one week. Results told us that 49% of dairy farmer respondents were currently short-staffed; 46% had vacancies unfilled for more than three months; and nearly a quarter had been unable to fill a gap on their team for more than six months. Lewis says most of the responses came within the first 48 hours of the survey’s release and the level of respondents who said they were short-staffed confirmed what he had long suspected. “It worked with what we have been hearing the whole way through and sometimes you just don’t know until you survey, and it reconfirmed what we have been saying for the last 12 months,” Lewis said. The application for the 500 staff includes them being paid a minimum of $25.50/hour. The dairy employment website FarmSource currently has around 1100 jobs. The hourly wage being offered for the bulk of these jobs is also $25.50/hour. Farmers are willing to pay this to get anyone to work for them. While there were some dairy assistant roles on offer that could
GAP: Federated Farmers employment spokesperson Chris Lewis says the request for 500 migrant workers will fill a big shortage in the mid to high skill range on dairy farms.
attract New Zealanders new to the industry, the biggest gap was in workers who had at least two or more years’ experience in the industry. Compounding the issue was rampant levels of farm staff being lured and poached by other farmers to come and work for them. He says if the Government declined the request, then it needed to articulate an alternative to the industry. “What is their plan then, because we’re exhausting our options,” he said.
The survey also asked farmers what they were doing to retain their staff and 65% had increased salaries and wages, 42% had adjusted rosters to allow more time off and 36% were boosting efforts on upskilling and training staff. This has helped these farmers retain their staff but it hasn’t attracted new staff because there’s no people to attract because the labour market was so tight. “If you’ve got good staff onfarm and they’re doing a good job, that’s going to be the quickest way to not make the situation
any worse,” he said. Lewis says they are hoping the travel bubble with Australia and the Pacific Islands will be established because it will free up MIQ space by over 40% and could ensure any migrant staff can go through quarantine in time to be on farms and working from JuneJuly. “It’s looking very, very doable,” he said. The Government will make an announcement on a bubble with Australia on April 6 and is working towards a bubble with the Cook Islands for May.
It worked with what we have been hearing the whole way through and sometimes you just don’t know until you survey, and it reconfirmed what we have been saying for the last 12 months. Chris Lewis Federated Farmers
BOE1154 (A)
INTRODUCING THE LATEST TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX FOR YOUR HOGGETS…
