Haste urged on seasonal labour cap

Growers facing staffing shortages are calling for a new cap on overseas workers to be announced as soon as possible.

Kaiko¯ura MP and National’s immigration spokesman, Stuart Smith, said 12 recognised seasonal employers (RSE) had sent an open letter to the Minister of Immigration, Iain Leesgalloway, calling for an announcement on the RSE cap earlier than November. It comes after an announcement that New Zealand strawberries and other Kiwi produce, which have earlier harvests, are at risk of rotting in the ground because of a labour shortage.

The RSE scheme sees overseas workers, generally from the Pacific Islands, employed in the horticulture and viticulture industry.

Smith said regions such as Central Otago, Marlborough and Nelson did not have access to enough workers locally to meet the demands of employers.

‘‘Workers should be allocated based on the needs of businesses and the availability of local labour, not on a regional basis.’’

The cap has grown from 8000 in 2009 to 12,850 last year. Overseas workers are only allowed to fill jobs Kiwis cannot fill.

Smith said Lees-galloway should increase the cap by a minimum of 1500 workers to ensure businesses’ demands for more workers were met. Lees-galloway said he was sympathetic to providing the cap earlier, and the Government would make an announcement soon.