Employers, migrant advocates rail against local job priority warning

Employment advocates claim the government is "driving a wedge" between migrant workers and local communities by urging domestic businesses to prioritise New Zealanders.

At a recent conference, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said businesses should hire unemployed New Zealanders before recruiting from abroad.

Failure to do so, she said, could see employers stripped of their ability to recruit workers from overseas.

Many migrant workers who relocated to New Zealand after the country's borders reopened in 2022 following the Covid-19 pandemic currently hold three-year Accredited Employment Work Visas that are expected to expire over the next few months.

The workers must leave New Zealand before their temporary work visas expired if they were not eligible to apply for another, Stanford told participants at the conference.

In filling the vacancies, Stanford said employers needed to replace the migrant workers with New Zealanders.

Alvin April from South Africa needs to leave New Zealand when his three-year visa expires in December.

April currently works as a rubbish truck driver in Auckland, which is categorised as skill level 4 under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), meaning he can only stay in the country for a maximum of three years on his current visa.

What's more, he must leave the country for 12 months before he can apply for another AEWV.

April brought his wife and three sons over for a better life in the hope of applying for an extension of his work visa or, possibly, gain residency.

However, he has since learned that neither of these options are available.

"I've got a 5-year-old who doesn't know what South Africa is like, especially in Cape Town where the crime rate so high, and I need to prepare that child mentally to go back home," he said.

"If I knew that the visa was only for three years and I had to go home, then I would have just stayed at home because who wants to uproot your family for three years to go back to the situation again."

Sheryll Otway, managing director of Transdev Howick and Eastern in Auckland, said people who were allowed to work in New Zealand should be kept in employment.

Otway's company hired a number of bus drivers on a temporary work visa after job postings received "very little uptake" from New Zealand residents.

However, overseas responses to the job postings flooded in from people who had a "commitment to a change of life as well", she said.

"We always do local first, but we're finding that [it's] not enough to keep the industry rolling, and we do have to apply outside of New Zealand," she said.

Otway said the situation might be better for migrant workers who were on a pathway to residency.

Others, though, might be forced to return home if their bid to stay in New Zealand was rejected amid the country's high unemployment rate.

"These people have committed to us for a good couple of years. We've put a lot of training into these people who started building a life here," Otway said.

"If you allow people to come in on a work visa, I think it has to be future-proofed.

"If you bring them over when there's a shortage of staff or drivers, and then you just use them like a pawn ... [with] unemployment rising [and say] 'Oh no, they can go home now' ... I think it's pretty unfair."

'Failing all workers'

Sher Singh, president of Migrants Rights Network NZ, said the government's recent directive was "deeply concerning".

Singh said migrant workers had sacrificed a lot to build a life in New Zealand, and many were burdened with massive debt because they had been charged "outrageous fees" for work visas.

"Instead of protecting those who keep our industries running, the government [is] driving a wedge between migrant workers and local communities," he said.

"But this isn't a fight between 'us' and 'them'," he said. "This is about standing up for every worker, no matter where they were born or what kind of visa they hold."

Singh said locals were entitled to strong domestic job opportunities, but New Zealand workers wouldn't be searching for jobs overseas if they were truly supported.

"What we're seeing isn't about migrant workers taking jobs, it's about a government failing all workers," he said.

"Still, it's migrant workers who bear the heaviest cost. They're the most vulnerable, the least protected and the least likely to speak out because the system is stacked against them."

Anu Kaloti, president of the Migrant Workers Association, said the government was obliged to look after "all workers, irrespective of their immigration status".

"[The] workers who work in so-called lower-skill jobs [are] an important part of the economy," she said.

"More importantly, they're human beings, and they should be treated with respect and dignity," she said.

"I think it's a very classist and elite approach that we have in terms of dividing skill levels."

However, immigration lawyer Sonny Lam believed Stanford's underlying intentions were balanced.

"The wording might not be coming out in a way that reflects what the intentions are," he said. "But the philosophy behind it, I think it's fair with some caveat."

Lam said the government couldn't allow all migrants to stay in New Zealand without satisfying some criteria.

People who relocated to New Zealand on a three-year work visa had an opportunity to extend their stay for an additional two years if they were able to secure a job offer for a higher skill level position, he said.

"The expectation is that if you want to stay more than five years, which is a long period of time," he said.

"It would be reasonable to expect the migrant to upskill themselves if they're not skilled, take English [classes] if they need to pass English requirements and seek another position that will enable them to continue to stay."

Prioritising domestic workers

Peter Elms, visa director at Immigration New Zealand, said the Accredited Employer Work Visa, the country's main temporary work visa, was designed to balance business needs with a commitment to prioritise New Zealand workers.

For lower-skilled or entry-level positions - ANZSCO skill levels 4 and 5 - employers must engage "in good faith" with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Elms said.

For higher-skilled positions - ANZSCO skill levels 1-3 - employers were not required to engage with MSD but must meet all job check advertising requirements, he said.

Under current rules, employers must advertise vacant positions for at least 21 days on recognised platforms for lower-skilled roles and at least 14 days for higher skilled positions.

Failing to engage with MSD in good faith can lead to serious consequences, including loss of accreditation (meaning employers can no longer hire migrants under the AEWV scheme), declined job checks or rejected visa applications, Elms said.

"While we understand the commitment employers make when hiring and the aspirations migrants have when coming to New Zealand, it's important to remember that the AEWV is a temporary work visa," he said.

"It allows visa holders to work in a specific role for a defined period and does not guarantee a pathway to residence," he said.

"The purpose of Immigration's work policy is to help employers fill genuine labour shortages when suitable New Zealanders are not available, while ensuring New Zealand workers remain the first priority."

Graham Allpress, MSD's group general manager for client service delivery, said there were clear guidelines for employers on how to engage with the department when looking to hire from overseas.

"We encourage them to get in touch with us, as we will likely have a candidate that will be a great fit for what they are looking for," Allpress said.

"Helping New Zealanders get jobs, and keep them, is our top priority," he said.

"Helping employers hire local workers for local jobs is a key part of this."