So much for our smug hermit kingdom.
Labour have given up and singled they will open the immigration floodgates and start the same dynamics that have gridlocked Auckland into stand still…
Immigration announcement: Sectors ‘welcome’ changes, focus now on improving pay
“Great news” and a “massive relief” is how various sectors facing crippling job shortages are responding to the Government opening up more professions to a fast-track residency process.
But questions remain about why it has taken so long, especially for nurses and midwives “inexplicably” left off the immediate residency despite major shortages, and improving pay and conditions to keep workers here.
And the sector is concerned about how, despite the Minister saying nearly 3500 nurses have arrived during the pandemic, they have no idea how many have left, with many heading offshore weekly for better pay and conditions.
…yay, more International Student Scams, more exploited migrant workers and more hyper tourism – all the things that fucked us last time around.
Yay.
We are so addicted to a low wage economy that we will risk triggering a spike in unemployment to capitulate to big industry who are reliant on cheap labour.
This will see unemployment rise as big industry dump Kiwi workers for their cheaper imports and we will see the impact of this next year as the recession kicks off.
To inoculate the country against these dynamics, we urgently need the Fair Pay Agreements to ensure the imported workforce are unionised.
It’s a hell of a juggling act, but if anyone can do it, it’s Michael Wood.
Watching TVNZ Breakfast yesterday and their pandering to the Queenstown exploiters of the low wage economy made me think the producer owns a business in Queenstown!
How about the tourism industry pay better wages and provide better conditions for workers rather than relying on cheap imported migrant labour?
Our reliance on the low wage economy is a direct byproduct of 30 years of a deunionised workforce, the Fair Pay Agreements will change that but the political pressure to keep exploiting migrant labour remains.
Look at how we are using slave conditions for Pacific workers…
RSE workers being treated ‘like slaves’, Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner says
Workers within the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) schemeare being subjected to conditions akin to modern slavery, the Human Rights Commission has found.
And it was not a case of “a few bad apples” but it was systemic, said Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo.
“When people are being told – despite being sick – ‘you get in that van, and you go to the field’, that’s forced labour. If you’re living in a regime where you fear for your safety – that is a version of modern day slavery,” she said.
“And when you want to go home because of the way you’ve been mistreated, but you can’t go until you’ve earned your airfare to go home there’s no freedom there, so again it’s like forced labour.”
…the demands of a low wage economy from our businesses that exploit is more powerful than our conscience.
The role of a migrant worker killed at a Dairy in the PMs own suburb has been eclipsed by the Get tough on crime brigade rather than it being seen through the lens of exploited migrant workers being exposed to dangerous working conditions.
It’s more important we can buy a cheap coffee than the people serving us work with dignity.
This is us as a people, and our exploitation has always been part of our hegemonic privilege.
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Or we could demand that the 100,000 + kiwis who are working age, fit and sitting on the dole go out and get a job to help solve the worker shortage.
Your choice
But that would lower the unemployment rate, which we are told is already unsustainable……
Perhaps they are applying for jobs but getting turned down. Or sick? Or perhaps would be worse off financially. Mind you, people like you always want to make people financially worse off.
Could we also demand that employers hire those kiwis?
It’s not often I use this language Andrew, but get fucked, along with your idiotic victim blaming.
The unemployment rate is deliberately controlled by policy settings, in order to maximise employer class and capital investor class power over wages and salaries, thus maximising their returns. Neoliberal policies have always been a race to the bottom for everybody else.
I agree that it is related to policy settings but these can be ideological and not just neo liberal although your point is valid in large part. I put this down toN Z having a range of problems but not enough leadership and intellect to find and deliver solutions that actually work.
As an ex business owner unable to get staff is tough but if the staff you take on are not willing workers it can be even worse.
It is upsetting to have able body people being paid by hard working people through their taxes but having worked with some of these people there is often mental issues involved or a background of abuse . Working bosses in small businesses do not have the time or skills to get these people up,to speed it needs to be done by government or an agent .
If this poster were gifted a brain it would be in for and incredibly lonely time indeed.
Even our capitalist masters have long said there needs to be structural unemployment at all times to put downward pressure on wages and stifle working class organisation and fightback–for their benefit. The RB Governor says there must be unemployment to fight inflation–surely the unemployed will be national heroes now for suffering a miserable life for the sake of their fellow citizens? Of course inflation is significantly due to corporate level profit gouging not workers wage increases.
Benefits are a transfer payment just like national superannuation, yet demonisation and stigma applies to bennies that are largely affected by macro economic decisions made well outside their input or control.
Absolutely agree. There are at least 140,000 people stuck in poverty on the dole. Solution: work schemes, here’s a reliable car to get to work, you’re going to do this, heres 3 months training, heres your $1500 a week living wage, dont fuck it up there will be no dole if you do…
Nursing shortage solution: $100,000 salary
I just applied for a WINZ administration job recently advertised in my region, maybe the unemployment rate is increasing (I read recently 40,000 carpenters might be about to enter the job market as the industry slows to a standstill)? As an unemployed Maori with two tertiary qualifications I look forward to my successful application and my new position at MSD New Zealand Andrew.
As you often write National & the media are unable to chew gum & walk at the same time, The headlines should be saying that National doesn’t want to keep locals employed, doesn’t want us to have wages we can live on & wanted to keep an overpriced housing market to enable the landlord bludgers to keep living on the accommodation supplement subsidy. Governments have to make tough decisions & while the current government is not even close to perfect they obviously thought that increased wages & job security for locals along with house prices they may be able to afford was more important than increasing the wealth divide.
Why would the headline say that about National when this article is about Labour?
It probably makes me a bad person but I’m going to love every minute of the horror and surprise of the myopic Labour green droids who so utterly can’t accept their team has failed monumentally, as they are destroyed at next years ejection.
The only thing more disgusting than the lies Labour has told, is the hubris of this government and its supporters and my is that going to be rewarded at the ballot box
No one hates your tribal right wing dogma, it’s who you are.
So nurses teachers truck and public transport drivers are all low pay wrkers are they?
The misguided push by Labour to not bring in immegrants has cost tye country dearly and now we are at the back of the queue.
It is a same that NZ cannot draw on its own people but at present we have a situation were anyone who wants o work at any level of society can find employment .The fact that there are 180000 drawing benefits shows there are many who will not work .I realize there are many valid reasons general health ,mental health family commitments in a caring society these people should recieve more help that just a weekly payment which does not give them a life just an existance .
Until we stop,this lost of people to the system we need immegrants especially in education as that has to be the key to solving other problems
A number of NZ workers have rediscovered their class power recently and organised and taken action for their own pay increases from the employing class rather than wimping around on taxpayer funded WFF. Bosses do not like this one little bit–so it is little coincidence that the Govt. has folded on this.
FPAs do need more urgent promotion and implementation–as per usual Unite and First Unions have lead the charge. Great too that the “Yass Massa” nature of the RSEs have been properly exposed and the Commissioner has called for a review before the 2023 season. These modern day plantation owners need their arses well and truly handed to them.
Calling NZCTU where are you? You should be leading every news channel and calling for a union drive throughout the country not just migrant labour.
The sums don’t add up for migrants who work in hospitality in Queenstown either. Say $270/week for a cheap room.
On top we have electricity-considered unaffordable. Food-considered unaffordable.
It’s doable if you get generous tips from the wealthy who you are serving. If you are young, attractive and personable you could probably do quite well waitressing.
The solution is more inclusionary housing, and put the price of mains up to $100 so the servants can be really well paid. That’s chicken feed for many residents and tourists. Keeps the riffraff out too. They can go to Ferg Berg like me.
So do you want nurses and doctors for our perma-crisis health system or not?
Or would you rather it continues on towards 3rd world status that ends in the remaining professionals to leave for other countries or industries?
Can’t have it both ways Martyn.
I am not sure how finally treating nurses, midwifes and specialist doctors with the residence visas they deserve (and need, if they are going to come over here) equates to opening the floodgates for NZ’s current and abusive low-paid indenture system.
What is the solution to the labour shortage in the health sector? Labour stuffed up by not fast tracking doctors and nurses during covid. They faffed around for 2 years, and well settled health staff left due to uncertainty, increased workload and low pay.
Let’s talk medical schools, has there been any increase in intakes in past 3 years? The bright students are leaving for Australia, as they can’t get into medical training in NZ. In addition, the existing spaces were used up by students qualifying based on ethnicity, instead of grades. It will be interesting to know how many places are wasted as students selected based on ethnicity can’t keep up with work loads.
I don’t think fast tracking bus drivers is intelligent, but then we are talking about labour policies. We will just get tonnes of applications for bus drivers, who will dissapear once residency is gained.
The shortage of medical staff versus the complete lack of imagination shown by the Health Minister to making pathways to training far more attractive means we don’t have the luxury of being principled. We have to go off shore!
If, for example, Little offered nurse training as an in-house paid as you train career with a contract to remain in NZ for a period of time, rather than the market led poly tech profit oriented model, there would be some hope. Same with other medical professions. But he’d rather battle with all and sundry, be the staunch union boss and achieve fuck all and only make it worse.
I’m afraid to say, we are held back by incompetence, a lack of imagination from our government and those citizens who could step up but are just plain unemployable.
Idiot, the government and DHBs agreed on a $3000 cash payout and 16% pay increase. The nurses union said no, so it went to mediation where it still lies. The nurses union are now asking for the initial settlement and any further payments that may arise from further negotiations. They expect payment in the first quarter of next year should this be agreed upon. Your right wing political narrative has left out facts and your continual attack on the health minister shows a complete lack of knowledge on the current situation. I suggest you do your homework before espousing such garbage.
We train nurses,teachers and other professionals…who because of the housing ponzi depart for other countries….we then import overseas replacements who wait until obtaining PR and then do the same.
An aging population and an apathetic youth who see no future, is the perfect storm for selling off NZ assets and continuing to…kick the can…down the road.
Some transformational gummint this turned out to be.
Unfortunately the alternative is even…worse.
Higher wages without increased productivity leads to inflation eating into wages, They just tried the experiment and it failed.
Looking at this differently, I am wondering what is happening if you encourage tourism and immigration while you’re hiking interest rates to slow down spending?
Crime, poverty and brain decline is the NZ way!
Having the lowest of the low come to NZ to work for exploiter employers on low wages, many of the new employers scammers and our new migrant citizens, isn’t appreciated by other migrants or working Kiwis.
100% pure rip-off? New Zealand voted second-worst place to move to
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/14/100-pure-rip-off-new-zealand-voted-second-worst-place-to-move-to
We have doctors and many professionals leaving NZ for higher wages and being replaced by supermarket workers with 5 kids moving here on minimum wages and instantly in poverty, while the exploiters and consumption business hi five!
Labour first got into power by promising low immigration! Now they are so dumb they don’t even realise that only the scammers, woke on benefits and right wingers wanting slaves are for our low wage economy and thus Labour are getting less and less popular and more and more similar in policy to the Natz (but with higher taxes and more woke committees).
c’mon – we all know new zealand is the fifth eye – the brown one. we have to give away PR just to get the “stragglers”, “the con artists”, or the “lifestylers” who plan to retire here.
We need more nurses and doctors. And midwives. And teachers. And farm workers. And bus drivers. And truck drivers. And crop pickers. And hospitality staff. And builders and construction workers. And IT. And social service workers. And, and, and …
Bring in (let in) 50,000 workers. There’s plenty of housing for them.
More Indians please ! We need more uber eats drivers! Asap!
Sarc Kirk?
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