Migrant group backs Peters’ proposed visa changes
The Migrant Workers Association is welcoming a policy change by New Zealand First, which echoes proposals from pro-migrant advocates for many years.
New Zealand First says migrants would not be tied to an employer under a proposed replacement to the accredited employer work visa.
The Migrant Workers Association says that’s a good first step, as it allows workers to more easily move on from exploitative jobs.
But it also questioned the motivation behind the policy given recent remarks by party leader Winston Peters and deputy Shane Jones about Indian and Chinese migrants, which had been labelled racist.
Association president Anu Kaloti said on the surface, it seemed like an improvement on the status quo, and it was something it had called for in previous public consultations.
“We were also proposing similar, that the bottom line basically is that any kind of bondage must stop – tying migrant workers to single employers is where most of the exploitation is happening,” she said.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
RNZ/Nick Monro
But if it was introduced, it might be too little, too late, she said, as exploitation had become rampant in recent times and now increasingly included human trafficking and money-laundering.
“We also keep suggesting that unions, maybe they should be given a greater role to play here. I know when I say mandatory unionisation of migrant workers, most people probably get very nervous when I use those two words, but I think that needs to be trialled.”
Kaloti said while NZ First’s policy was “possibly better than the current situation”, it would not reverse some voters’ unhappiness with Peters’ other views.
“Unless Winston, Shane Jones, and generally New Zealand First address their racism and xenophobia, announcements like this are not really going to pacify any of the migrants. It just seems, it just sounds a bit rich coming from them.”
Struggling businesses
Immigration adviser Arunima Dhingra said the immigration system could not be overhauled every election cycle, as businesses, advisers and migrants needed certainty about processes.
“It would be like putting an axe through the heart of the immigration system. It is one of the core temporary visa policies. And this is what New Zealand employers have taken many, many years to get used to. And they’ve introduced systems in their businesses to be compliant with immigration.
“There are so many layers within the instructions and the policies and the processes and you cannot responsibly propose dismantling an entire framework without understanding those intricacies and identifying precisely where the problems have been.”
Immigration adviser Arunima Dhingra.
RNZ / Liu Chen
The current accredited employer work visa framework had many of the safeguards New Zealand First was calling for, she said, including labour market testing.
“When an employer has been through a lot of steps to actually hire a migrant worker, then to decouple the employer from that person (the migrant) is potentially disadvantaging the employer. I think there’s a real clear balancing act here. It’s not just about protecting that individual person, but also protecting and looking after New Zealand businesses.”
NZ not a ‘labour-hire company’
New Zealand First has not responded to requests for comment, either about the policy rationale, or its similarity to proposals put forward by pro-migration supporters.
Peters wants work visas to be tied to migrants’ occupation and region instead of a specific business.
At a public meeting announcing the proposal, he said the current work visa was being used as a routine recruitment channel, a “back door” to bring in friends and family, or a way of making money by exploiting staff.
“We are a country with an immigration system, not an international labour-hire agency with a flag,” he told a Dunedin public meeting.
“The policy will put New Zealand workers first, lift confidence in the immigration system, protect migrant workers from exploitation, and preserve a clear route for employers who genuinely cannot find critical skills here.”
The policy called for an end to work visas for most retail jobs, and for overseas staff to fill only identifiable shortages, rather than a “general source of labour for ordinary jobs”.