Unemployment at a 20 year high! Why give jobs away?

Kay Brereton from the Beneficiary Advocacy Federation of NZ says that “The Government needs to step up and help New Zealanders in these tough times. Unemployment is at it's highest this century and the governments response is to reform welfare.”

“The Welfare reforms are framed on the premise that the unemployed are not trying hard enough to find jobs. The reality is regular redundancies and businesses closing, employers posting signs outside saying 'sorry no jobs'. The reality is families struggling to pay the rent, to pay the power and to put food on the table.”

“We are told that things are being made easier for employers and that will create jobs, we are told that the rebuild of Christchurch will create jobs, in fact even our seasonal work is not available for the unemployed.”

“With over 400,000 unemployed how can the government justify giving work to overseas workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme? Up to 8,000 workers may come into New Zealand this year to work in horticulture and viticulture. Whilst this scheme surely has great benefits for the workers, and their home countries, is it a luxury we can afford while our workers are under and unemployed? “

“These workers are already arriving, this is not about a labour shortage for horticultural and viticultural work, this is about being able to offer poor wages and working conditions to unskilled temporary migrant labour.”

© Scoop Media