Visa woes driving Pinoy dairy farmers out of NZ –report



Filipino dairy workers in New Zealand may have to leave the country in droves after their applications for residency visas were rejected by the country's immigration bureau.

Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment spokeswoman Rachel Purdom said that 57 percent of applications for residency from Filipinos were declined in 2014, according to a report on The Timaru Herald, as posted on Stuff.co.nz on Friday.

Purdom said that some employees only made partial matches in the required duties of dairy cattle farmers, meaning they did not meet the threshold to have their residency visas approved by Immigration New Zealand.

Maiden Saba, who chairs the Filipino Dairy Workers in New Zealand, said the affected Filipino workers, including herself, are considering leaving the country for Australia and Canada.

Saba and Migrante Aotearoa national coordinator Dennis Maga speculate that employers downplayed the management roles of Filipino workers in order to prevent their applications from being approved.

Saba said the employers fear that the workers will transfer jobs once their residency is approved.

In New Zealand, children of non-residents must either work low-wage jobs or leave the island country because of the expensive international student fees.

A report on the New Zealand Herald in May 2014 said a nationwide review of dairy farms was conducted amid allegations of farmers exploiting the migrant labor force.

It said initial visits found out that 31 out of 44 farms broke New Zealand labor laws, which mandates employment contracts, minimum wage, and wet weather gear for dairy workers.

A majority of the labor breaches include improper time recording and contracts, while some Filipino migrants were made to buy their own gumboots and raincoats for work.

Sharemilker Christina Tawatao said that workers also kept mum about alleged pay ripoffs and poor conditions to avoid risking their jobs or immigration status.

Filipinos made up the majority of the 11,636 migrant dairy worker arrivals between July 2008 and April 2014, the report said. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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