‘‘It’s made a dent in the lifestyle I live.’’
In 2009, Brian Bonniface, 59, lost the job he had loved for 13 years.
He was a product development technician at Fisher & Paykel Appliances, a company crushed by the decline in consumer spending during the global financial crisis. Chin up, he applied for 85 vacancies, but was given just five interviews. He finally got a job as calibration technician grading dirty water. He quit after six weeks because of the time he had to spend away from home.
‘‘You felt like you were getting rejected by society: ‘You’re too old, you’re on the scrap heap. Why don’t you hide under a rock and die.’ ’’
Brian took part-time work as a primary school caretaker and delivering newspapers and pamphlets. ‘‘It was really disheartening. Going out for a meal was out of the question, the movies were out of the question. We were lucky to have steak at all. Sky was going to get the chuck. Any slight luxuries were gone.’’
Five months after losing his job, Brian ran into some old colleagues who had started their own business. They agreed to take him on.
He is grateful for his new job repairing televisions and he enjoys the team of ‘‘great guys’’. But his salary is about $10,000 less than at Fisher & Paykel and without the superannuation and life insurance benefits. While the cost of living has exploded, he hasn’t had a pay rise in three years. ‘‘The rates have gone up, car registration has gone up, food is going up. It’s made a dent in the lifestyle I live.’’
Two years before Brian lost his job, he and his wife, Hennie, remortgaged their Papatoetoe home for renovations and still owe the bank around $130,000. ‘‘We can afford it now, but if one of us loses their job, we will be in trouble.’’
But they hid their financial struggles from their son and refused to withdraw him from private school. ‘‘It came very close to him. We were worried we weren’t going to be able to offer him a good start to life.’’
Brian isn’t bitter. He says Fisher & Paykel treated him well and had little economic choice but to move production to factories in Thailand and Mexico. But he thinks the Government isn’t helping keep jobs in New Zealand.
In an industry dependent on consumer spending, he’s now constantly nervous he may be out of work again soon: ‘‘You always feel that the axe is hanging over your head.’’