3 Budget shows targeted focus Vol 19 No 20, May 24, 2021
Farmers to act on staff shortages Gerald Piddock
F
gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz
EDERATED Farmers is urging farmers with staffing shortages to write to the Government to outline the effect it was having on their businesses. The move comes after two announcements from the Government over the past few weeks concerning immigration. It firstly denied an application by Federated Farmers and DairyNZ to bring in 500 skilled migrants to work on dairy farms. Instead, it approved 125 agricultural machinery operators, below the 400 that is needed. Then on May 17, the Government announced an “immigration reset” to improve the country’s immigration system to reduce the number of unskilled migrants coming into New Zealand. That same announcement also indicated a review of the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). Lewis says the announcement was bewildering and “a night of disappointment” for himself and representatives from other industries reliant on migrant staff who were present. “Please take the time to write an email about the labour shortage
on your farm, or how your local contractors are short-staffed, and explain the economic, mental health, health and safety and animal welfare consequences of being short-staffed,” Feds employment spokesperson Chris Lewis said “Make sure your workers and their families who are impacted write in too. “Direct your frustrations at the target.” Most of the information outlined by MP Stuart Nash, who filled in for an ill Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi, were policy details he already knew about. Lewis says the announcement had effectively united the industries who relied on migrant staff against it. “It’s the Government versus everyone else on this issue,” he said. “At the moment, we’re all on the same song sheet. Sometimes you feel quite isolated as a farmer, but I feel well-supported on this issue.” Lewis says there’s nothing lowskilled about farm work. “You develop your skills as you learn into a highly-skilled professional,” he said. Any immigration policy changes, he says, would do little to prevent the expected staffing shortages over the new dairy
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season and farmers will just have to soldier on. Lewis says they will continue to try and persuade the Government to bring in more migrants while at the same time, looking at ways of getting more New Zealanders onto farms and persuading employers to improve conditions for workers. “We are talking about it, we are encouraging farmers, but transformation doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a long-term thing,” he said. The Meat Industry Association (MIA) is also wanting further clarity from the Government around its immigration reset. MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says introducing new
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obstacles to employing migrant workers in the red meat sector would have a significant impact on the sector and jeopardise the jobs of thousands of Kiwis. “For instance, at one meat processor, the entire night shift is only able to operate because of 10 skilled migrant employees – that means employment for 70 New Zealanders on that shift. “Without sufficient workers, processing plants cannot operate at capacity, which will depress wages and impact returns to farmers and ultimately the value of our exports,” Karapeeva said. She says the industry’s small number of migrant workers fulfil critical roles such as
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halal slaughterers, boners and butchers.” Halal slaughter generates over $3 billion of value-add halal certified meat products, which accounts for one third of NZ’s industry’s export earnings by value. The red meat sector generated $9.2 billion of exports last year and directly employs 25,000 people here. Karapeeva says while its preference was to employ New Zealanders first, the industry still has a labour shortage and migrant workers play a very important role in helping to address that shortage and support employment for the wider sector.
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