Monday, June 30, 2014

The Seasonal Employment Scheme robbing Kiwis of jobs?

Like many New Zealanders I've worked on vineyards and in orchards and done other seasonal work, manual labour, and been grateful for the job and the ability to earn a living.  Like all my mates on the orchards and vineyards I was reliable, respectful, loyal, and hard working.  Many of us worked on the same orchard or vineyard or farm year after year doing seasonal work, and had been valued employees.  After being bullied out of my job at the South End School after the extraordinary orchestrated litany of lies I worked at JRs orchard in Greytown for a couple of seasons picking apples.

The following season we all traveled to Greytown to reapply for our jobs , and waited to hear from JRs.  We all received a phone call saying thanks but no thanks, because JR had done a deal with the local National Party MP to import labour because there was way more profit for JR (and other employers) in doing that and he no doubt promised a big 'donation' to John Hayes MP.  Hayes's statements are outrageous!  WINZ didn't bus people out there we got the bus or car pooled if we didn't have a car, and people didn't prefer to sit watching TV in their homes on the dole, they preferred to have a job!

The only auditing or review of the advisability of this scheme seems to be framed to address only the benefits of the imported workers, rather than the social costs, the effect of this scheme on our local communities, or the national economy. 

Like the overwhelming number of the people I worked with on the orchard I am now reliant on a tax payer funded benefit, depressed about not only being unemployed and angry at the blatant lies from the 'Honourable' Member of Parliament (and his predecessor).

There is a strong sense of injustice felt by many people, and added to this are other social problems caused by lack of proper governance and rampant corruption and incompetence by public officials, including high and rising suicide rates and a corrupt Police force which has been found to have thrown hundreds of child abuse files in the bin and deliberately lied about it, while facilitating and concealing the problems and covering up for the offenders.

Both Labour and National plan on increasing the numbers of seasonal workers able to be recruited from overseas in spite of the effect on our local economies - these people don't spend their money in our communities, they hardly even go to the supermarket (allowed to bring food in if it's declared, and do), they take it home to their own communities - JR should go and set up orchards in the Solomons and Vanuatu, it's not rocket surgery, but he's only interested in maximising his profit.

It's reported in June that there are 8000 workers let in to work but I'd bet the number actually working here is much higher.  I'm all for supporting our neighbours in the Pacific, but who is really benefiting from this, and what's the real cost?