The immigration system, particularly the temporary visas, are there to fill gaps in the New Zealand labour market, and the unfortunate truth is that there will be fewer gaps… some of our migrant workforce are going to have to seriously weigh up what the future holds and think about their options, because if there is not work available when it comes time to renew their visa the labour market test will be applied and they may well get a different outcome than they had done in the past…The good minister wasn’t referring to all guest workers in NZ but only to those who were currently stranded (or their immediate family members) overseas. But he might as well have been referring to everyone in New Zealand who wasn’t a permanent resident or citizen. You’ve heard it from not just Your Loyal Blogger but from every migrant and guest worker advocate who’s made his or her voice heard: there is more than one compelling argument not just to retain the existing migrant work force but to widen the Permanent Resident pathway gates to those who so richly deserve recognition and appreciation via welcome arms from the host country: Guest workers here have a reasonable expectation to residency especially those who’ve been working a few years here already. To feed us our tender childhood years, our father ran a modest printing shop in Manila that was always taking in temp workers from my mother’s hometown. You see, my father couldn’t say no to workers who were not just my mother’s townmates but her distant relatives as well. My dad’s temp employees worked hard for minimum wage, board and lodging, not just because they were grateful just to have a job but because they knew that sometime soon, with a good work ethic and decent production, they would be made permanent workers. Recalling this years later, I’m aware this basic social contract doesn’t translate to legal provisions anywhere else but is universally recognized. Work hard, don’t make trouble, contribute to the economy in your own humble way and someday soon you’ll be rewarded. With the Government’s latest pronouncement, I get the distinct impression that OK, you’ve been QUITE useful to us the last few years, but now because someone is better-deserving of your jobs, it’s been great knowing you, have a great life, close the door when you leave please! That’s what Government is telling the work visa holders. First, you make the rules harder. Then, you remove the pathways. Then you tell the workers they can’t work here anymore? This is not the side of humanitarian, compassionate and decent New Zealand that the world wants to see. in case of doubt, apply the simple rules of fairness and justice. In quite a few cases, a lot of migrants, migrant families and migrant dreams have been created, spent and fulfilled on New Zealand shores. the only difference ? Work visa holders never have security of residence, and can be asked to go home, any time. It’s a fact of life. A fact of life, even when these guest workers have invested the best years of their life, emotions, and their blood, sweat and tears in the land of their hosts, who unfortunately don’t value these workers in a reciprocal way. Is it too much to ask, in return for service, devotion and loyalty, to be accepted as one of New Zealand’s own? When all else fails. If and when the above reasons (and many more) are rejected, when all else fails, New Zealand will understand the expression : pera-pera lang. Not literally of course as it’s Tagalog, but pera-pera lang as in, it’s a business. Everything’s a business, even the work visa policy that makes everyone happy. Workers from all over the world are happy with the work that’s available, and New Zealand is happy with the way positions are filled and jobs are done. As in, how many nurses all over New Zealand are not just Filipino, but from non-New Zealanders? How many builders, carpenters and scaffolders are Pinoy? How many dairy workers are kabayan just because Kiwis just won’t get their hands dirty? The list goes on. (And we’re not even talking about the training hours and patience needed to get New Zealanders to the level of competency work visa holders are working now.) It’s just a business, the business of keeping the New Zealand economy running. Pinoys and other work visa holders may need the jobs, but maybe New Zealand shouldn’t be in such a hurry to get rid of our kabayan that soon. Thanks for reading!
how i made my cardiologist blush so early in the am
20 MINUTES EARLY FOR THE POST-echocardiogram appointment. thank you, traffic-avoiding GPS. To help the cardiologist analyze me, a nurse takes…
Hi Noel,
That is what makes my heart wrenching, his statements a out temporary visa holders that they are just here to fill the gaps. It feels double standard because before pandemic, NZ as a destination and a vast opportunity for skilled workers and not as gap fillers (panakip butas). I thought when the government imposes NZ laws like the Fair Trading Act (in the sense of misleading information) that it will uphold it in all segments including the government and not to ratify a bill that will otherwise change the
desire of those who already invested a lot of money and resources filling their dreams.
To make matters worse, while the government is deciding, their bills are piling up and their are getting tainted. I wonder how many if them whose names have been referred to the debt collection agencies? With the honourable minister’s suggestion to liaise with the consulates and other community organizations to deal with their (stranded) “affairs”, is a complete disregard to other legislations particularly the Privacy Act 1993 (among many others).
correct on every point Alicat. It seems that behind the global adulation showered on our host country, there are people falling between the cracks and unable to cope with their situation. Government as a whole is aboveboard but when its mistakes are highlighted I doubt if it will rectify enough. thanks for the comment!