Denis O’Rourke MP

New Zealand First MP

22 August 2013

Kiwis Should Be At the Front of the Job Queue

New Zealand First MP Denis O’Rourke has appealed to the Government not to be pressured by commercial interests to bring in immigrant workers ahead of Kiwis looking for jobs.

This follows a move by Air New Zealand and PricewaterhouseCoopers to get the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise to add ‘Aeroplane Pilot’ to the Essential Skills List.

Mr O’Rourke says pilots are already being trained in New Zealand and if jobs are taken by immigrant pilots it will damage job prospects for the trainees and also put the training schools at risk.

“New Zealand needs skilled workers to grow the economy, but immigration should not be a substitute for training and employing our own skilled workers.

“Commercial interests will always look for cheaper labour to maximise their profits.

“This is especially evident in the building and construction industry where Kiwi tradespeople have to compete with migrant tradespeople flooding into the country on temporary work visas, pushing wages down.

“Our pilots are world class and should be at the front of the job queue,” says Mr O’Rourke.

ENDS

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