Migrant Workers Association Analyzes New Changes In New Zealand Work Visa

18 Sep 2019

The New Zealand government on 17 Sept 2019 published a latest employer-led work visa and it stated that would deal with labor deficits, overcoming exploitation and enhance conditions for workers in New Zealand.

But the Migrant Workers Association told that the long-awaited reforms were a failure and did not go far enough.

Fight to Stop Exploitation

Beneath the new system, six categories of visa, including required skills and long skill deficits, will be substituted by one temporary work visa.

All firms will need to be authorized to hire international workers and there will be careful checks prior to the visa is issued.

Particular terms and requirements will be negotiated with areas that are highly reliant on immigrant workers, such as the dairy, aged care, and construction sectors.

Companies will also need to train and make their jobs engaging to New Zealand workers.

The government has announced the reforms will assure international workers are hired only for genuine deficits, help overcome exploitation and will build better associations between education, immigration, and welfare systems.

Migrant Workers Association announced the developments would benefit everyone but international workers. Also said it was possible that workers would remain to be exploited as they can work for a particular single employer.

Increasing Demands on Wages

Iain Lees-Galloway, NZ Immigration Minister rejects the visa reforms will leave migrant workers exposed to being treated like modern-day slaves.

He told the accreditation of companies upfront was intended to identify those companies who we consider are a risk of abusing their workers, those who have a history maybe of not reaching their commitments on employment law.

If anyone seemed like they were being maltreated, they could always report it to the Department of Immigration to switch to another employer, he said.

The reforms intended to better integrate the education, immigration, and welfare systems, he told.

In the regions, if a company was paying higher than $25/hr there would be no inspection. If it's under $25/hr then there would be stronger labor market inspections than what presently exists. In the cities, if an organization was paying higher than double the median wage, then there will be no labor market examination.

The new reforms will benefit up to 30,000 companies by making it simpler to hire immigrant workers in the short-term, he said. The reforms will be executed gradually from the following month and will be in place by 2021.

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