The New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation has called for a review of immigration policy and for a programme that brings labour into New Zealand specifically to fulfil horticultural needs.
Speaking at the Federation's conference today (10th August 2004), Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor's response was as follows:
There is a range of complexities here. Plugging labour gaps with foreign workers is not a long-term solution to issues like recruitment, retention, accommodation, local labour supply and unemployment.
Where shortages are due to recruitment difficulties, as they may well be in many cases, immigration responses are generally not the long-term answer. Immigration does not address underlying problems associated with recruitment and retention of valuable workers.
And there are risks, namely the exploitation of migrant workers. Also, if we continue to bring in cheap labour, the incentive to invest in skills development may diminish and the industry could lose opportunities to lift productivity through better practice.
Extensive discussions are underway between Immigration, Labour, and Work and Income departments to resolve labour and skill shortages. What's become apparent from these discussions is that both the government and the industry have a role to play.
It goes without saying that maximising local labour is a priority. This may involve employers considering non-traditional sources of local labour - women, different ethnic groups, people with disabilities, older workers and migrants already living in New Zealand.
Employers may need to make adjustments, such as offering more competitive wages and conditions, and meeting accommodation, transport or childcare needs.
They may also need to invest in innovative and alternative forms of production, to assist with productivity - particularly labour supplementing or replacement technology.
I'm not denying that immigration has a role to play. We've already put schemes in place that allow foreigners to assist with shortages where appropriate. One such scheme is the fast-tracking of temporary work permits in areas affected by labour shortages, and where there are no New Zealanders available for the work. In this case, and with the okay from Work and Income, visitors onshore can be issued with work permits within 48 hours.
To date, this has worked well in Dunedin, Southland, Nelson/Malborough, Hawkes Bay and Northland. A total of 2,106 work permits were issued for horticultural workers for the season ended 31 June. Though admittedly this is only a fraction of the estimated 44,000 workers needed through the year by the horticultural and vegetable sectors.
Working holiday schemes also help alleviate shortages. There are currently 19 schemes with various countries and several more are either being implemented or negotiated. Places available have increased to 31,000 in 2004/05, and Cabinet has agreed to an additional 5,000 places per annum from 2005/06.
The key role for the government is to get the mix of interventions right. The Department of Labour is currently preparing advice for Ministers on responses to skill and labour shortages and a range of interventions over the short and long term.
I for one am confident that we'll strike a balance with this issue and find a workable solution. In the meantime, MAF is busy working with industry to implement the agriculture and horticulture sector's pan-industry Human Capability Strategy, which also seeks to provide solutions to skill shortages.
The first phase of implementation used half a million dollars from MAF's Sustainable Farming Fund, plus considerable industry contribution. A strategy is being developed and will be implemented through a series of projects.
