Recruitment industry welcomes increased employment for Kiwis

Auckland, 9th May: The Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA) New Zealand has welcomed the increase in workforce participation and employment in New Zealand, confirmed yesterday in the Labour Market Statistics for March 2014, and is calling on employers to adopt leading workplace practices as the foundation on which to create further workforce opportunities for Kiwis.

“An increasing demand for new workers and the growing demand for labour from established businesses, which also rose 2.6 percent, illustrate the benefits of an improving economic environment and growing opportunities in New Zealand,” said Paul Robinson, RCSA New Zealand Chair. “In order to maintain this momentum RCSA believes workplaces must uniformly adopt best practices in how they recruit, contract and retain their workforce.”

Robinson noted that successful workplaces in New Zealand today comprise a combination of direct-hire, on-hire and contract workers. “The demand for general and skilled labour to meet the rebuilding timetable in Christchurch is just one example of how a managed workforce is successfully being brought together.” “However employers must continue to evolve their workplace practices so they meet health and safety standards as well as comply with wage rates and contract requirements for all of their workers.”

RCSA members are reporting sustained employment growth in the Canterbury region, as projects within the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan gather momentum, which has resulted in strong demand for skilled and un-skilled labour in the region.

In order to raise awareness among workers and employers of their responsibilities and rights in the key areas of contracts, wage rates and health and safety in the workplace, the RCSA is working closely with its members and non-member recruiters, employers and relevant government departments to formulate an awareness campaign

“The RCSA has been front and centre in its support of the audits and compliance checks currently being conducted in Christchurch,” said Robinson. “In fact, we have been working closely with government and authorities to help identify key issues which have formed many of the commitments contained in the Canterbury Rebuild Safety Charter.”

Over the coming months, RCSA in coordination with other signatories to the Canterbury Rebuild Safety Charter will conduct a series of safety awareness events which will be open to all on hire staff and workplaces in the Canterbury region.

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