New Zealand’s industry growing as closed borders worsen labor shortages Reuters

By the hand of Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s closed borders have helped keep COVID-19 out of the Pacific nation, but a severe shortage of migrant workers is fueling protests by companies and workers currently suffering from the workers’ crisis.

About 2,000 restaurants disrupted service and turned off the lights on Tuesday and are staging other work stalls as part of a two-month campaign to address the government’s attention to the serious shortage of skilled labor.

The labor crisis comes after New Zealand sealed its border in March last year due to a severe coronavirus pandemic. The measures helped keep COVID-19 in place and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised to maintain the world-renowned expulsion strategy.

But although the COVID-free economy has reacted faster than expected, its vaccination rate is much lower than that of developed peers and immigration has reached historic lows, causing acute labor shortages in a country dependent on low-skilled migrant workers.

“COVID-19 had an international work visa before more than 25% of our employees closed and closed their borders,” said the protest organization, the New Zealand restaurant association.

“Losing them is enough to make the difference so big that it can affect the business in catastrophic ways,” the association said.

Some restaurants in Auckland and other major cities are temporarily shut down due to low staffing or simply staffing, according to media reports.

Added to the frustrations of companies is the government’s proposed reintroduction on immigration in May, which would further reduce the number of low-skilled migrants when the borders reopen, and seeks to attract more high-skilled migrants and wealthy investors.

“If the government doesn’t reverse that policy, more restaurants will close and that’s sad, and new and great restaurants won’t be able to open because it will be very difficult for existing innovators to start hiring,” National President Mike Egan of the New Zealand Restaurant Association 1NEWS local he told the media.

Recruitment restrictions are on the rise in several industries, a business survey said this week that companies have reported difficulties in hiring skilled labor.

Staff in essential services are also disturbed. About 30,000 nurses will be laid off this year in a series of strikes to improve wages and working conditions, as they complained of exhaustion.

“We are facing a national health crisis in terms of hiring, hiring and retention of staff; and the working conditions of our members cannot be tolerated and that is why our issues are important,” said David Wait, a New Zealand Nursing Organization advocate. statement.