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Summary
- Visas of many migrant workers have been extended by the NZ government to ease labour shortages.
- Working Holiday and Employer-assisted work visas will be pressed forward for 6 months as part of the newly announced changes to the visa requirements.
- The new modifications to visas are likely to help businesses in retaining migrant workers.
NZ Government has announced an extension to Working Holiday visas and Employer-assisted working visas, which comes as a breather for the hospitality industry. Coronavirus-induced border closures hit the hospitality sector hard, resulting in the shortage of migrant workers and leaving businesses hard-pressed to get workers.
As per Hospitality NZ, the new modifications to Working Holiday visas and few work visas will aid the hospitality operators.
Source: Shutterstock
Let’s have a look at the announced changes by the Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi.
- Working holiday visas can be renewed for a maximum of 6 months, and visa holders will continue to work in any field, including horticulture.
- Along with their spouses and children, employer-assisted work visa holders who are employed with visas ending from January to July 2021, there will be a six-month extension.
- The stand-down period of 12 months for low-paid Essential skills visa holders (when they have to exit NZ for 12 months after working for 3 years in the country before returning) has been put on hold until January 2022.
- Maintain the median wage (2019) at $25.5 per hour until at least July 2021 for its immigration conditions, after which the median wage will rise to $27 per hour.
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Visa modifications will permit migrant workers to fill labour shortage
Mr Faafoi stated that the announced changes to visa settings would permit many migrant workers in NZ to stay and work for a longer time. He added that the NZ economy was rebounding much better than expectations and labour scarcity was being witnessed in many industries.
With positive labour market prospects, the visa changes would make sure that the migrant workers who are already in NZ augment the attempts of employers to recruit Kiwis who are out of jobs amid coronavirus, as per him.
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Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White considers the move as a game changer amid a high season for the hospitality industry.
To make it through the year, many firms relied on summer trading, and being unable to locate jobs would have made it more challenging for them next winter than the post-lockdown time, she noted.
Many employers would now be able to have a calmer and more comfortable Christmas, recognising the fact that now they are more certain to get the workers they require.
