Work permits dry up

Queenstown employers are finding it harder to employ overseas workers as Immigration New Zealand declines more applications and puts increasing pressure on employers to find New Zealand workers.

This is despite the Department of Labour issuing a memo to employers last week showing no suitable New Zealanders were available for key retail, hospitality and service industry jobs in Queenstown.

The list of jobs includes cleaner, receptionist, cafe assistant, office clerk, housekeeper, waiter/food and beverage attendant, sales/shop assistant, supermarket worker, chef, bar attendant, kitchen-hand, and adventure tour guide.

The list is reviewed every 12 weeks.

Otago's only licensed immigration adviser, Bob Clark, said Queenstown employers in the hospitality and skilled trades were having increasing difficulty getting approval for non-nationals, even those already employed.

"They have been here on work permits and as they go to renew, employers are being challenged to prove there are no Kiwis available that can do that position.

"It does make it harder for employers," he said.

The employers had to register the vacancy with Work and Income.

"In the past, this was a waste of time in Queenstown, because there was very low unemployment," he said.

Employers had to offer opportunities to New Zealanders first, but in Queenstown most people applying for jobs were non-nationals.

In some cases, the non-national had been refused a work permit and had had to go home, Mr Clark said.

"It's going to create issues in Queenstown, particularly on the hospitality side," he said.

The owner of Hamills Restaurant and Bar, in Frankton, and vice-president of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, Tony Robertson, recently tried to get a work permit for a kitchen-hand.

The worker had been with the restaurant for two years but was refused an extension on his permit and had to go home.

Previously, applications were processed within 48 hours, but since September, with the worsening economy, processing time was getting longer.

In some cases it had taken up to 40 days, during which the restaurant went understaffed and the non-national waiting to do the job had to live without wages.

Designa Ceramic Tiles owner Tom Butters had also experienced delays with one of his worker's permit applications.

"We had to go through the expensive process of advertising nationally only to get no responses. It took six or seven weeks. Meanwhile, we were short-staffed during a busy time."

With the downturn in the building trade he doubted whether he would now be able to hire any overseas workers.

Department of Labour spokesman Rowan Saker said the criteria for work permits had not changed.

"However, in the current economic climate more labour market testing is carried out to determine whether or not New Zealand citizens and residents are available to do the work offered," he said.

The onus was on the employer to show they had made genuine attempts to attract and recruit suitable New Zealanders.

Approval levels for work visas and permits had fallen by 18% for the year to April 30.

"This decrease is due to higher decline rates as labour market checks confirm that suitable New Zealanders are now available to fill the job vacancies on offer," he said.

The Queenstown branch declined fewer than 10% of work applications, he said.

Head of Immigration New Zealand Andrew Annakin said the department had received fewer visitor and work permit applications since July 2008.

"But, despite the recession, there remain some acute labour market shortages where immigration is the best way of addressing them in the short- and medium-term."

Mr Annakin said immigration continued to be a vital component in economic growth.

Research showed migrants contributed 68% more in taxes than they received in services and benefits, he said.