Immigration minister Erica Stanford say visa changes for seasonal workers will still give New Zealanders the first chance to apply. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Immigration Minister says a new visa for seasonal workers is a temporary fix while longer-term changes are made to the accredited employer work visa.
Erica Stanford said she expected to make an announcement on that in December.
The government this week introduced a new subcategory to the specific purpose work visa to address demand for workers for upcoming seasonal peaks and increased the cap for the recognised seasonal employer scheme.
Erica Stanford said the seasonal jobs would have to be advertised in New Zealand, pay at least the median wage, and offer at least 30 hours a week.
It was aimed at sectors where employers needed a significant number of extra seasonal staff.
Seasonal was defined as weather-dependent, for roles like rural contractors, tree planters, or ski instructors.
Stanford said that was so sectors such as retail could not use visa to fill 'seasonal' workforce gaps over Christmas.
"There is going to be a seasonal peak coming up where we need a lot of seasonal workers and the Employer Accredited Work visa is just not fit for purpose. We are doing major changes to the Employer Accredited Work visa and we will include a new seasonal visa."
The seasonal work visa was a short-term solution to deal with the current season while that longer term work was done, Stanford said.
She said an announcement on the accredited employer work visa would be made in December.
Roles covered by the RSE scheme, such as planting and harvesting crops, would also be exempt from the seasonal visa.
Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy and strategy Alan McDonald said the visa would benefit sectors that had been crying out for staff.
It would mean they could get staff for some jobs that New Zealanders were not keen to do, he said.
"It's just that recognition that there are other seasonal demands on our workforce that perhaps you can't dial it up as quickly as you would like, so it's just recognition of a wider issue and they are going to deal with that longer term."
