I was at a local business gathering last night and, at dinner, sat across from the lady hosting us, which afforded both the opportunity to go more in-depth on the topic of the day and chat in general.

I learnt that she fell for a Kiwi bloke and left her English village to follow him to New Zealand some 30 years ago. As it turned out, he’s the transport manager for one of the country’s larger primary-industry logistics suppliers. Lots to relate to, then.

“He just cannot get drivers!” was her first comment after learning about my involvement with New Zealand Trucking magazine. “He’s pushed wages up to more than $30 an hour to try to keep the ones he has.” Here we go again…

After a bit of back and forth on that topic and going more deeply into her line – retail – the state of New Zealand’s labour shortages and need for migrant workers came into the mix.

“You know,” she said, “I often listen to Mike Hosking, and I don’t always agree with him. But the other day, he commented that New Zealand labour had hit rock bottom, that those who don’t have jobs will never go and get a job. It’s easier to sit at home on the dole.”

Think about that. It’s bloody scary. Coming from a country where seemingly everything is against a citizenry that is desperate for work, I’ve never thought very much of the concept of the welfare state. Take care of your citizens, yes, but there’s no benefit in having a system that can so easily be taken advantage of… Who can blame them, though, when those who do want to work and make something of their lives can foot the bill? (That, in case it doesn’t come across, is sarcasm.)

It’s telling when our magazine is seeing more operators advertising for drivers and when every second shopfront has a ‘Staff wanted – hiring now!’ sign in the window. So many jobs, so few people willing or available to do the work.

With the borders reopening to holders of accredited employer work visas next month, we pondered whether it might have helped had this happened about a year ago. Undoubtedly it would have… And yet, this morning, Newsroom Pro reported the government is adding even more red tape to the process of hiring desperately needed migrant labour. Essentially, the idea is to shift to a higher skill mix of migrants and encourage companies to ‘offer competitive wages, hire less experienced New Zealanders and train them, and work together as a sector to showcase employment opportunities and career pathways’. All while charging employers more for the pleasure.

Yet the evidence – anecdotal as it may be – indicates that that approach won’t have the desired outcome. New Zealanders who want to work are working. And high-earning, degree-holding migrants aren’t going to wait tables, work in retail or drive trucks. Simplistically, at least, the trucking and transport industry is ahead on the government’s wishes – wages are rising, and industry initiatives to attract and train are there to be used. (An in-depth discussion on all that is a topic for another day, though.)

My feeling? Let’s not hold our breath for a speedy resolution to the country’s labour woes – be they skilled or not.

Take care out there,

Gavin Myers
Editor