Meatworkers Union hits out at importing staff

The New Zealand Meatworkers Union is opposing a move by the Alliance Group to import 100 overseas workers for its Southland plants, because it says hundreds of the region’s own people are crying out for work.

Alliance manufacturing general manager Willie Wiese confirmed on Monday that the company was recruiting, because of a worker shortage.

Sourcing seasonal employees was ‘‘one of the industry’s biggest challenges’’, he said

Alliance employs about 4500 seasonal employees throughout New Zealand including more than 2000 in Southland.

However, Otago-southland Meat Workers Union secretary Gary Davis said the union would strenuously oppose the move, with hundreds of Southlanders vying for those jobs and being rejected at Southland plants.

The union was notified by Immigration NZ on Friday about the Alliance application and invited to put in a submission by August 19.

Davis said the news ‘‘had got me quite angry because we are seeing so many turned away’’.

‘‘Local people are applying but they’re not getting the jobs.’’

In October, 1000 people had applied for jobs at the Alliance Lorneville plant, and only 400 had been successful, he said.

‘‘And they [Alliance] have got the cheek to say that they can’t fill the jobs . . . if there weren’t the people available I would not have a problem.’’

Wiese said there was a shortage of workers. ‘‘Employing New Zealanders is always Alliance’s preference, however given the significant shortages of skilled and unskilled candidates at processing plants over recent years, we do need to look overseas for employees to ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our farmers and customers . . .’’

The company also ran extensive recruitment campaigns across New Zealand and worked with a range of organisations including Work and Income, the Ministry for Social Development and local development agencies to source staff, he said.

Davis believed some unsuccessful Southlanders who applied for work at the Lorneville plant, and who had passed the medical and fitness test, were discriminated against because of age – some applicants were in their 50s – and possibly for past injuries and existing ailments. Employers were not wanting to take risks by employing them, he said.

Wiese said Alliance rejected ‘‘any suggestion our recruitment practices exclude suitable local candidates’’.

However, Davis believed the recruitment criteria was ‘‘far too tight’’, including the fitness test and employment conditions ‘‘too tough’’.

‘‘They treat them [meatworkers] as people who work fulltime, and who are employed all-year-round when they’re only employed four months of the year.’’

An Alliance spokesperson said the company would not share information about its employment criteria, because it was commercially sensitive.

Davis was concerned about precedents being set.

It could mean hundreds more Southlanders missing out on work if more overseas workers were allowed to come into the country, he said.

‘‘If they’re not employing local people and if they are allowed to employ 100 new ones this season, it could be 200 next year.’’

‘‘It’s not good enough that they’re going to Immigration NZ and bypassing local people and given the housing situation, where are they going to live?’’