Road freight body Transporting New Zealand says the sudden closure of the Work to Residence pathway for truck and bus drivers could risk slowing the economy.
It follows immediate changes to the Accredited Employer Worker Visa (AEWV) scheme announced by Immigration Minister Erica Stanford on April 7.
She says the Work to Residence pathway for bus and truck drivers is also closing to new applicants, “as the shortages of drivers reported when this was established have been filled”.
The Residence Pathway was established under the Transport Sector Agreement, confirmed in April 2023, with applications for residency opening in September 2023.
The changes will affect bus and truck drivers who apply for an AEWV from April 7, 2024, onwards.
Stanford says the changes are focused on attracting and retaining highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers where there is a skill shortage.
“At the same time we need to ensure that New Zealanders are put to the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages,” she says.
In 2023 migration was at a near-record 173,000 non-New Zealand citizens.
“I am bringing in a suite of changes that will improve the AEWV scheme and ensure we are better testing the local labour market and reducing the risks of putting New Zealanders out of work.
“Many of these are not new, but rather a return to pre-pandemic settings that better balanced the needs of business with the wider interests of New Zealand,” Stanford says.
The suite of changes include:
- Introducing an English language requirement for migrants applying for low skilled level 4 and 5 roles
- A minimum skills and work experience threshold for most AEWV roles.
- For roles that fall into the level 4 and 5, employers will need to engage with Work and Income before approval to bring in migrants will be granted
- Reducing the maximum continuous stay for most level 4 and 5 roles from 5 years to three years
- The franchisee accreditation category will be disestablished and these businesses will be to apply to bring in workers from overseas through the standard, high-volume, or triangular employment accreditation
‘Unwelcome news’
Transporting NZ interim chief executive Dom Kalasih says while the residency pathway was always intended as a temporary measure, the sudden closure will come as unwelcome news to road freight companies.
The industry looks to employ skilled migrant drivers as an important supplement to the domestic workforce, he says.
“The residency pathway has allowed members experiencing acute staff shortages to recruit migrant drivers and get parked-up trucks back on the road and operating productively.
“Keeping the pathway open for at least 12 months rather than closing it after only seven months of operation would have allowed the sector a more adequate time period to address long-term skills shortages,” Kalasih says.
According to the International Transport Union there is a global truck driver shortage of around three million drivers.
Kalasih points out that local transport companies are competing with fierce international competition for migrant drivers from countries including Australia and Canada.
“Offering a pathway to residence after two years of commitment to New Zealand was an important incentive to attracting skilled, experienced operators in a highly competitive international market,” he says.
Transporting NZ is urging the Government to keep the option of restoring the Residency Pathway on the table.
“We’re going to need a lot of experienced truck drivers just to shift the aggregate required for the Roads of National Significance programme and cater for the growth in the economy and freight task that the Government wants to achieve,” Kalasih says.
“We will continue to advocate for workforce development and immigration settings that support a sustainable long-term workforce and reduce the vulnerability of migrants to exploitation,” he adds.
