Thursday, 22 June 2017 07:55

New rules in danger of squeezing out valued workers

Written by  Nigel Malthus
New rules on migrant workers will impact the dairy industry, says DairyNZ. New rules on migrant workers will impact the dairy industry, says DairyNZ.

DairyNZ says proposed new rules on migrant workers will make it harder to employ and retain good staff.

Submissions to MBIE over the changes have now closed, but Dan Schmidt, of the DairyNZ people team, is encouraging farmers to talk to their MPs if they think their businesses will be affected. The new rules are due to take effect in August.

Under the proposal, all migrant workers earning at the low end of the pay scale – less than $23.49 an hour – would be eligible only for one-year work visas, renewable for three years before a one-year mandatory stand-down.

Partners and children would not be allowed in unless they qualified for a visa in their own right.

DairyNZ says that would apply to many workers in the industry.

Those earning at the high end – more than $35.24 an hour – would be eligible to apply for five-year visas, to bring family and to have a pathway to residency.

However, workers earning $23.49 - $35.24 an hour would be eligible for three-year visas, with family – but only if they were classified as skilled workers under the ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) system.

That includes farm manager and assistant farm manager, but it leaves lower-skilled classifications including herd manager and dairy assistant eligible only for the lowest-level visas. They would have to be earning unfeasibly high wages before being allowed off the bottom rung.

“There’s no mid-skill band for these guys,” said Schmidt.

$35.24 an hour represented an annual salary of about $73,000 for a 40-hour week or about $90,000 for a 50-hour week. He said it was a quite high threshold for them to have to meet.

Schmidt said the affected workers were making a valuable contribution to the industry.

“In every interaction with people that we have, [farmers] say these guys are as important as the farm managers.”

Schmidt said employment in the dairy industry was not necessarily a case of choosing either migrants or Kiwis. A stable core workforce gave farmers a better chance of taking on the local school leaver.

More like this

Bridging the gap with rural New Zealand

OPINION: One thing I keep hearing from rural New Zealanders is the importance of relationships. Strong relationships don’t just happen - they take trust, consistency, and time.

Featured

LIC Space folds for good

Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Are they serious?

OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their…

A hurry up!

OPINION: PM Chris Luxon is getting pinged lately for rolling out the old 'we're still a new government' line when…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter