Fund for newly jobless offers 12-week respite for
General Manager BOP
Greg Murphy 07 577 3462
A multimillion-dollar scheme set to provide income relief to those newly unemployed as a result of Covid-19 has given hope for a mum but left a migrant worker feeling hopeless.
And a budget adviser is concerned the time span is not long enough and may end up an expensive taxpayer benefit.
The Government yesterday announced a $570 million scheme for temporary income support payments to New Zealanders out of work because of the pandemic.
Fulltime workers will be eligible for $490 a week and part-time workers will get $250, which is also available for students. Both payments are paid tax-free and are only available to residents and citizens.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the payment should help the newly jobless adjust and find new employment or retrain.
The amount was worked out based roughly on how much the wage subsidy scheme was after-tax.
Students who have lost part-time work as a result of Covid-19 may also be eligible for the part-time rate.
The 12-week scheme is forecast to cost about $570 million which incorporates $1.2 billion of payments offset by $635 million of saved benefit payments, with small administrative costs.
Migrant workers will not qualify for the payment and continue to only be able to access support through Civil Defence.
It will be funded from the Covid Response and Recovery Fund.
But the announcement brought no relief for one Rotorua chef who was “sad” to hear he did not qualify for the Government’s income relief.
The man, who did not want to be named, said he and other employees at the company he worked had lost their jobs, but, as a migrant worker, he did not qualify for the income relief.
He had studied and worked in New Zealand since November 2018, and his work visa would expire in November next year.
But if he does not find a job, he will be forced to return to India before then.
“I have to work to be able to stay,” he said. “It’s really tough . . . We’re human beings.”
He had applied for jobs in Rotorua, Taupo¯ , Whakata¯ ne and Auckland but said the crisis had meant work was scarce.
He was worried about paying off his $40,000 student loan if he was forced to return to India. One New Zealand dollar is equivalent to 46.29 Indian rupee. He was currently in talks with Immigration NZ.
But for one Rotorua mum,
the