Kiwi welders who lost their jobs while immigrants working at the same factory kept theirs might not have been treated fairly, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said today.
He has asked immigration authorities to investigate revoking six of nine work permits held by Filipino welders involved in the dispute.
The Government and union officials are investigating 28 redundancies last October at MCK Metals Pacific Ltd in New Plymouth.
Welder Stephen Bovett said he and his fellow workers lost their jobs while the company retained Filipino welders on temporary permits.
"I am furious about this. I have a mortgage and two young children," Mr Bovett said.
"MCK has taken jobs off local Taranaki people while keeping migrants on."
Dr Coleman told reporters the Department of Labour had told him that if it had known MCK Metals were going to lay off workers the Filipino welders would not have had their work permits extended.
"It has to be jobs for New Zealanders first, and you wouldn't be renewing permits in situations where you've got New Zealanders able to do the work," he said.
"We're very concerned about these New Zealand welders losing their jobs and we want to make sure they've been treated fairly. The indications at the moment are that that may not have been the case."
Dr Coleman said he was seeking more information but, as he understood it, the Filipino welders were skilled aluminium workers.
They had been working on a contract for Nissan, and when it produced less work for them the company wanted to retain their skills so it "moved them sideways" on to steel welding work that New Zealanders were doing.
Then the New Zealanders were laid off.
Dr Coleman said officials had told him they did not have all the information available on which to base their decision.
He said the Government did not intend changing the 45,000 a year target for permanent immigrants because New Zealand needed certain skills and was going to need them after the recession.
But temporary permits could be "turned on or off" depending on circumstances.
"With the recession getting worse, and New Zealanders increasingly available, it's going to be a situation where temporary migrants won't be having their permits renewed and there won't be new temporary migrants coming in," he said.
Dr Coleman said the New Plymouth case was the only one he had been briefed on and he would be interested in hearing about any others.
"More stories may start to come out but this is a very specific cause that raises some wider issues," he said.
Earlier this month it was reported that workers at a Christchurch-based water jet manufacturer had complained to their union about being made redundant while migrants were kept on.
