19 January 2005

Cheap Labour Imports

New Zealand First has grave concerns about the pattern of New Zealand workers being pushed out of their jobs to make way for cheap immigrant labour.

“It is outrageous that Independent Fisheries has been given the green light by the Immigration Service to hire a foreign crew for one of its ships – just months after it laid off its New Zealand crew,” said Associate Immigration spokesperson Dail Jones.

“The Immigration Service is now actively promoting the dubious practise of employers improving their profit margin by reducing their labour costs with cheap imported labour.

“Out of the 42 New Zealand crew who were made redundant by Independent Fisheries last year, only 13 have been reappointed. This is not surprising given that under the new contract conditions they were only offered half of their previous pay.

“This practise will send New Zealand further down the path of being a low wage economy, easily exploited by foreign companies.

“New Zealand First will put an end to this practise. We are committed to a high wage, and highly skilled workforce that puts New Zealander’s first”, said Mr Jones.

ENDS

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