Measures to support the hospitality and tourism industries announced by the government will do little to reduce local staff shortages, Ignite Wānaka says.

Immigration minister Michael Wood announced on Sunday (October 9) that hospitality and tourism will have another year before they need to pay staff entering New Zealand on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) the median wage.

In addition, chefs hired under the same visa will no longer need to meet cooking qualification requirements, Michael said.

Ignite Wānaka chair Jo Learmonth was lukewarm about the announcement. 

“The change, although small, is at least a positive step in recognition of the challenges businesses are facing and will make some difference to some employers,” she told the Wānaka App. 

“However, it's a bit too little too late as businesses have been struggling for months.”

She said the new changes would take some months to make a difference, in the same way reopening the borders had not had an instant effect on the labour market.

“With the removal of travel restrictions, it's not like turning on a tap and immigrant workers flood back in, it's more of a trickle,” Jo said. 

“There are still many businesses who are having to close or change their business trading hours due to staff shortages.”

The AEWV was one of a raft of changes to immigration settings announced in March to improve wages and working conditions for workers while providing a route for businesses to access key staff. 

Former immigration minister Kris Faafoi said New Zealand could not return to the “pre-pandemic trends” of being overly reliant on low-skilled migrant workers who were at risk of being exploited.

When it was first made public, the new policy (replacing six visa categories) initially required a three-step accreditation process for employers and mandated an hourly pay rate of at least $27.76 (the national median wage).

This was widely criticised by the hospitality industry locally and nationally, and in May the government said it would allow the hospitality and tourism industries to pay a reduced wage of $25 per hour until March 2023.

At the time, Ritual Cafe owner and Wānaka Community Board member Chris Hadfield said the change to the AEWV’s requirements didn’t go far enough with staff shortages “worse than ever”.

The latest round of changes have not impressed him either. He told the Wānaka App all the new policies have made it “harder and harder to operate with sufficient staff or even find any”.

Cromwell’s Stoaker Room Bistro & Bar owner Sue Barbara also said the changes to requirements for chefs had come too late: “It’s going to make a difference but we’re nearly in summer already - we need staff now.”

She said the existing bistro was currently closed for one full day and one half day and plans to open a new Stoaker Room in Wānaka were progressing more slowly than planned, in part because of the staff shortages.

Under Sunday’s announcement the two industries will have another year to transition to the full median wage but they will be required to pay staff on AEWV visas 95 percent of the median wage from April next year. 

There had been some positive changes for the hospitality and tourism industries since the borders opened and “a good, lengthy winter season” have helped, Jo said, but businesses were still struggling with the “tenuous” market. 

“Having to navigate lengthy, confusing, expensive, and constantly changing regulations is not helpful and this is where nationally more support needs to be provided,” she said.

Michael defended the intention of the changes to immigration policy. 

“The government is focused on moving New Zealand to a higher wage economy, increasing the skill level of migrant workers, and encouraging employers to offer competitive wages and improve career pathways for New Zealanders,” he said. 

“This policy is beginning to work, with clear evidence of better pay and conditions in a range of sectors, which will create a more sustainable labour market for everyone.”

PHOTO: Wānaka App