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NZ Merchant Service Guild Welcomes Changes

NZ Merchant Service Guild Welcomes Changes to the Long Term Skills Shortage List

Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) has announced the removal of the occupations “Ship’s Officer” and “Ship’s Master” from the Long Term Skills Shortage List (LTSSL). The New Zealand Merchant Service Guild welcomes this decision.

“This decision should mean that the current practice of denying qualified New Zealand ship officers the jobs in their own waters will be ended,” said Guild President Russell Petrie.

“This is a win for members of the Guild who have been running a campaign since 2010. We are delighted that our campaign has been a success.”

These removals signify a positive response to a long-term campaign by the Guild against the inclusion of these occupations since they were added to the LTSLL in 2010. “After the inclusion of our jobs on the LTSSL, Immigration NZ proved uncooperative in protecting the right of New Zealanders to first choice of jobs within our borders,” says Guild President Russell Petrie. “Although past opportunities lost have been lost forever, justice delayed is better than no justice at all, and the industry’s workers can hope for a fairer future.”

“It is frustrating that the process has been unreasonably slow. The submission process for the recent decision began in late 2015, and the Guild spent considerable time and resources throughout 2016 completing submissions covering the state of the local labour market, detailing current unsustainable employment practices, and the failure of the LTSSL to incentivise training and local recruitment. Captain Petrie has said that “this failure to respond has unnecessarily prolonged the hardship experienced by our unemployed members, and the whole system ought to be overhauled to be able to respond nimbly to changes in market conditions. We now hope for a more balanced and collaborative approach from the department.”

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Members of the Guild are currently putting together a work program to fit with the new policy settings. This will include:

-Working with employers to shift to a model of career progression and succession as a way of managing the workforce.

-Discussions with ship owners to alleviate concerns about mobility within the industry, which is often incorrectly cited as a barrier to local recruitment.

-Building relationships with INZ officials to ensure they make fair and informed decisions when dealing with applications for work visas.

-In co-operation with training institutions, rebuild cadet schemes that will allow well-qualified new entrants a start in industry.

“More than anything else this decision has given hope that there can be a bright future for New Zealand Shipping, but Guild members and officials are now straight back to work in pursuit of a vibrant, well-regulated, and well-protected local industry We will continue to push for a rejuvenated domestic coastal fleet and to support the greater maritime cluster. We need to ensure that the shortcomings in our freight network, which has been brutally exposed in the aftermath of the Kaikoura earthquakes, are not repeated in future.”, Captain Petrie said

--ENDS--


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