The Government is allocating $100 million to help redeploy workers who lose their jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The first group to benefit from the package will be forestry workers in Gisborne-Tairawhiti.
Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said forestry was one of the first industries to be seriously impacted by COVID-19 (coronavirus) and this had had had a significant impact on forestry workers in Tairawhiti.
About $28 million of the $100 million package would be used to redeploy workers in the area for the next three to six months.
Alternative work identified for the affected forestry workers included:
- Local roading work, including road maintenance
- Hazardous tree removal
- Fast-tracked one billion trees project
- Conservation work
- Retraining an education
The Tairawhiti package will be administered through the Provincial Development Unit in partnership with the Mayors' Forum and Gisborne District Council.
11 Comments
Add fruit-picking in Waikato, BOP and HB to the list. Those farmers are wailing in advance for more hands since JA announced no more temp visa arrivals.
Edit: A mate of mine from uni runs a subcontracting business for horti farmers. He is flat out trying to match out-of-job tourism workers from Rotorua with growers in Te Puke.
well all the beneficiaries in the area who would not pick it last year -- even with door to door transport are $25 better off - so they wont
but hardworkign kiwis who have lost there jobs will jump at teh opportunity to be earners again - even with wage cuts --
should tell us something about the society we want to create at the end of this crisis
well all the beneficiaries in the area who would not pick it last year -- even with door to door transport are $25 better off - so they wont
but hardworkign kiwis who have lost there jobs will jump at teh opportunity to be earners again - even with wage cuts --
should tell us something about the society we want to create at the end of this crisis
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