i have no particular insights to offer this evening, so will share from an email posted to AEN regarding work permits. the email gives notice of a public meeting to be held on 30 may, 10am to 12pm, at windy ridge school, seaview road, glenfield, auckland. the meeting is in response to the following news item:
“Mr Coleman said there would not be new temporary migrants coming in as no new permits would be issued, and temporary permit holders would not have their permits renewed.”
---- Plan to slash permits worries migrants, New Zealand Herald, 6 Apr 2009
This issue has impact to the 130,000 work permits issued to migrants by Immigration New Zealand in 2007-2008. In fact, some migrants are already affected because Migrant Action Trust has been receiving calls from distressed migrants (on work permit) then made redundant and unable to find another job in the present economic climate. Worst affected are those who were recruited off-shore, have now been made redundant and also unable to find another job.
The objective of this meeting is to find solutions to the issues faced by migrants during the current global financial crisis and to discuss other areas of concern unique to migrants.
To get the most out of this forum, we invite community leaders, migrants who are not attached to a group and the media to send issues of concern and relevant recommendations to migrantaction@xtra.co.nz on or before 15th of May 2009. If you wish to speak on your item, also let us know.
in related news, i heard helen kelly, president of the council of trade unions, on checkpoint tonight. she appeared to be calling for reduced numbers of permanent migrants in order to deal with growing unemployment. this was played as part of a story about economist philip legraine, who believes cutting immigration is wrong during a recession.
on the one hand, it makes sense in that we don't want an extra bunch of people coming into the country with no work and become a "burden". but on the other hand, these new migrants increase demand and therefore economic activity. and as mr legraine points out, they bring a range of experiences, contacts and skills that are a positive addition.
cutbacks in a recession are generally a pretty bad idea, as they tend to lead to a downward spiral. it would be much better to focus on job creation - something this government is failing spectacularly to do - rather than on cutting immigration. if you want to grow the economy, you need to increase activity and the government is the best place to do that.
or at least they would have been, if they hadn't just spent $1.5 billion dollars in tax cuts that are highly unlikely to stimulate the economy - simply because they aren't reaching the majority of the population.
2 comments:
"on the one hand, it makes sense in that we don't want an extra bunch of people coming into the country with no work and become a "burden". but on the other hand, these new migrants increase demand and therefore economic activity. and as mr legraine points out, they bring a range of experiences, contacts and skills that are a positive addition."
Provided they are highly skilled and can find employment then I agree. Otherwise it is too risky that they will end up being a burden.
Japan seems to have remarkably stringent guidelines. It is something NZ could learn from.
The person satisfies any of the below-mentioned requirements and has stayed in Japan for more than five years without causing any problems in his/her social life.
Common to all fields
The person has been awarded a prize by an international organization, foreign government or any equivalent organization, with the prize being internationally evaluated as authoritative.
ex.) Nobel Prize, Fields Prize, The Pritzker Architecture Prize and Legion d’Honneur
The person has been given any of the following awards by Japanese government:
National Honor Award, decoration, the Order of Culture, Medal of Honor (except the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon and an award for the deceased given to a bereaved family) or the Japan Prize
The person spent more than three years or so for pursuing public-service activities as a committee member, etc. appointed or commissioned by the Japanese central government or a local government.
The person has made great contribution to the conservation or development of the society or local community in Japan through medical, educational and other vocational activities.
Diplomatic field
The person has been working in Japan as a member of a diplomatic mission or consular office of a foreign government and has rendered distinguished service contributing to the improvement of friendship or cultural exchanges between Japan and his/her country.
The person has a career as a secretary-general, deputy secretary-general or a higher-level title holder of any equivalent managerial position of an international organization of which Japan is a member nation.
Economic or industrial field
The person has made contribution to the development of the Japanese economy or industry through his/her activities as an employee or management in a Japanese company whose stock is listed on the stock exchange or whose business scale is as large as those companies having listed stocks, and has been or had been engaged in the activities for more than three years in Japan.
The person has made contribution to the development of the Japanese economy or industry through his/her activities as a manager or equivalent title holder in a managerial position of a Japanese company whose stock is listed on the stock exchange or whose business scale is as large as those companies having listed stocks, and has been engaged in the activities for more than five years.
The person has made contribution to the industrial development of our country, and has been awarded a prize as a result of being selected from among nationwide candidates.
ex.) Grand Prize or Special Prize of Good Design Award (sponsored by Japan Industrial design Promotion Organization)
The person has made great contribution to Japan’s agricultural, forestry, fishery, industrial, commercial or other business development through his/her activities as an engineer or technical expert having advanced or high-level expertise.
Culture or art field
The person has been awarded a prize which is widely evaluated as authoritative in the category of literature, fine art, motion pictures, music, theater art, entertainment or other cultural or artistic fields.
ex.) La Biennale di Venezia, Golden Lion, Prince Takamatsu Imperial Art Prize, Academy Awards, Awards at Cannes Film Festival, Awards at Venice Film Festival, and Awards at Berlin Film Festival
The person has made contribution to the development of Japanese culture through his/her activities for more than 3 years in Japan in a position of leadership in the category of literature, fine art, motion pictures, music, theater art, entertainment or other cultural or artistic field.
Education field
The person has made contribution to the improvement of the level of Japan’s higher education through his/her activities as a full-time teacher or equivalent-to-fulltime professor, assistant professor or lecturer working for a Japanese university or any equivalent academic institution as defined under the School Education Law of Japan, and has been or had been engaged in the activities for more than three years in Japan.
Research field
The person has been recognized to have made distinguished achievements through his/her research activities and falls under any of the following:
The person’s paper on the results of his/her research has been published in a scientific/technical journal, and has been referred to by two or more other researchers in their papers.
Two or more of the person’s papers on the results of his/her research have been published in scientific journals as a result of selection through fair judgment.
Many of the person’s papers on the results of his/her research have been published in authoritative scientific journals.
The person has been highly evaluated by a scientific society generally known as an authoritative organization, and has the experience of giving a lecture, etc.
Sports field
The person has won a high-level prize in a well-known international sports competition or other convention such as the Olympic Games, world championships, etc., or the person has made great contribution to such prize-winning achievement as a coach or instructor of such athletes and is pursuing instruction activities or promotion activities of that sport in Japan.
The person has won a high-level prize in an international sports competition or other convention, or the person has made great contribution to such prize-winning achievements as a coach or instructor of such athletes, and has spent more than three years in Japan pursuing sports instruction activities or sports promoting activities.
The person made great contribution to the promotion of sports in Japan.
Other fields
The person has contributed to the development of Japanese society in the field of public welfare, and won a prize as a result of selection from among nationwide candidates.
ex.) One More Life Workers' Volunteering Award, awards for persons who are recognized to have made contributions to the society
The person made great contribution to Japanese society or welfare through his/her public-service activities.
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/contribution.html
actually i don't have much of a problem with any of that, ben. i guess the one little problem is in the area of employment, where coloured migrants face an unfair disadvantage. their work experience and qualifications are given less value than other migrants even though they may actually be better qualified than others.
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